Beal Bank USA Review: A High-Yield Savings Option for Everyone
Written by
Kellan Jansen
Edited by
Melanie Grafil
Commitment to Our Readers
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GOBankingRates Score
Beal Bank
-
Savings Accounts
4.0
-
CD Accounts
4.5
-
Money Market Accounts
4.5
-
Banking Experience
3.9
Pros
- Offers a wide variety of savings products
- Financially stable--holds billions in excess capital and assets
- Has brick-and-mortar locations
- Supports online banking
Cons
- Doesn't offer checking products
- No mobile apps as a banking option
- Missing live chat support
Beal Bank Overview
Beal Bank and Beal Bank USA are two separately chartered, but closely intermingled banks focusing on consumer savings products and commercial lending. Beal Bank was originally founded in 1988 and is based near Dallas, Texas, whereas Beal Bank USA was founded in 2004 and is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Notably, neither institution offers consumer checking products. But both offer a wide variety of savings options that can appeal to people with different savings goals. We take a closer look at these account options in our review below.
Beal Bank USA was named one of GOBankingRates’ Best Money Market Accounts of 2024.
Beal Bank Review: Key Features
Beal Bank offers enough distinct savings options to appeal to nearly anyone. Here’s a closer look at each product below to help you figure out if Beal Bank fits your needs.
Savings Accounts
Beal Bank offers a Statement Savings account that can be a good fit for beginning savers. The account has an initial deposit requirement of $500, which is the lowest Beal Bank offers. You also don’t have to lock your funds up to access higher interest rates than a traditional account. You’ll get those rates and be free to move your money whenever you need to do so.
There are some administrative fees to be aware of, including a $15 fee if you close your account within the first six months of opening it. You’ll also be charged a $3 fee if your daily average balance throughout a quarter drops below $500.
You may be able to earn more interest through another savings product if you’re willing to lock up your funds for a pre-determined amount of time.
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CD Accounts
CD accounts offer safe, long-term growth with competitive interest rates that go beyond what you’d get from a statement savings account. But in order to access those rates, you have to agree to lock up your funds for a pre-determined amount of time. If you end up needing to withdraw the funds before the time expires, you may be charged a penalty.
At Beal Bank, you need at least $1,000 to open a new CD savings account. The institution also offers an IRA CD product. This account helps consumers maximize their retirement savings with safe long-term growth strategies. Once again, you would need to lock your funds in place for a pre-determined amount of time to access the CD IRA.
Money Market Accounts
Beal Bank’s competitive interest rates and straightforward fee structure have earned the institution one of our top awards for the best money market accounts of 2024. A money market account from Beal Bank could be a fit for your needs if you want to keep your funds available while earning a higher interest rate than a standard account.
That being said, you will need at least $1,000 to open a new money market account. You should also know that you’ll only be eligible for the highest interest rates if you put at least $25,000 into a money market account with Beal.
The bank also asks all money market accounts to maintain a minimum average daily balance of $1,000. If you fall below that you can be charged a $10 monthly fee.
Banking Experience
Beal Bank USA’s banking experience leaves a bit to be desired when compared to other institutions. For example, Beal doesn’t have a mobile app on iOS or Android, while most of its competitors do. It also doesn’t offer live chat support or even have a solid database of answers to common questions on its website. These missing features can make banking with Beal more complicated than it needs to be.
On the positive side, Beal does have some brick-and-mortar locations scattered throughout the United States. You can find them in:
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Sacramento, California
- Denver, Colorado
- Miami, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Seattle, Washington
Although Beal Bank is missing a few modern banking features, it does have more of a physical presence than many up-and-coming banks in the digital age. This means it can still be a good option for you if you prefer banking in person over doing so online and if you live in a location with a Beal branch.
Comparable Banking Options
Beal is just one of many options you have if you’re interested in opening a new savings account. Here are two competitors you can also want to consider.
Ally Bank
Ally Bank may or may not offer higher interest rates depending on where you live and when you apply. But its online and mobile banking experiences compare favorably to Beal Bank.
For example, Ally Bank offers 24/7 phone support, supports mobile check deposits and lets you withdraw cash from your account at any AllPoint ATM without any fees. There are also no overdraft fees or monthly account maintenance charges to worry about.
That being said, Ally doesn’t have any physical branches. This makes it a poor fit for people who value in-person banking interactions.
Discover Bank
Discover Bank is the banking branch of the company behind the popular Discover credit card. It offers a money market account that stands out as a viable competitor to Beal Bank.
Like Ally, Discover offers a more impressive online and mobile savings experience than Beal. Customers benefit from 24/7 customer support and zero account fees no matter what. This can give you one less thing to worry about while you pursue your savings goals. However, Discover Bank also doesn’t have any physical branches.
Final Take
Beal Bank offers a strong line-up of high-yield savings products that can help you earn more interest on your cash. It stands out with a straightforward fee structure and its physical branch network, which goes beyond what the competition offers. The company is also committed to maintaining high excess cash reserves, which enhances its long-term financial stability.
However, Beal doesn’t offer any mobile banking options, and its customer support availability is not up to par with the competition For these reasons, Beal Bank USA is best for savers who are okay with no mobile banking support. It can be an especially good fit if you live in an area with a nearby physical Beal Bank location and want to start earning more interest on the cash you’ve been saving.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Beal Bank.- Is Beal Bank a U.S. bank?
- Yes, Beal Bank was founded near Dallas, Texas, in 1988 and still keeps its headquarters in the area. Beal Bank USA is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
- How stable is Beal Bank?
- Beal Bank maintains billions in excess capital, which helps significantly with its financial stability across different macroeconomic environments. All deposits also have FDIC insurance up to $250,000.
- Who is the owner of Beal Bank?
- Beal Bank was founded by Andy Beal, an American businessman who is originally from Lansing, Michigan.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
To determine rankings for the Best Money Market Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all banks (excluding neobanks): (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) APY on the money market account; (5) the minimum balance needed to earn the APY; (6) monthly money market fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); and (7) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, and factor (4) was weighted 4 times.
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