SouthState Bank, National Association Review: A Regional Bank With a Wide Range of Products
Written by
Cynthia Measom
Edited by
Susan Kim
Commitment to Our Readers
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GOBankingRates Score
SouthState Bank
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Checking Accounts
5.0
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Savings Accounts
4.5
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Money Market Account
4.2
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Banking Experience
4.8
Pros
- Easy-to-waive monthly maintenance fee for standard checking account
- Round Up to Save makes saving easy and automatic
Cons
- Standard savings account limited to three withdrawals per month before withdrawal charges apply
- Limited number of branches for those who prefer to bank in person
SouthState Bank Overview
SouthState Bank has 256 branch and ATM locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The bank has over $44.9 billion in assets. It offers the same services and features as the big, national banks, like online and mobile banking, money transfer with Zelle, bill payment and customized alerts.
GOBankingRates has ranked SouthState Bank among the Best Southeast Regional Banks of 2024.
SouthState Bank Review
Here’s a look at features to consider to help you decide whether SouthState is the right bank for your needs.
Checking Accounts
Here’s a look at the different checking accounts SouthState Bank offers.
SouthState Checking
The SouthState Checking account is the bank’s most popular checking account and works well for those who don’t want to worry about getting charged a monthly maintenance fee for not meeting monthly qualifiers — no monthly maintenance fees apply when you enroll in e-statements. If you don’t, the fee is $5 per month.
There’s no opening balance or minimum balance requirement. The account comes with free email and text alerts, unlimited check writing and a free wealth consultation. This account does not earn interest.
Choice Checking
In addition to the basic checking account, SouthState Bank offers an interest-bearing account: Choice Checking. There’s no opening balance or minimum balance requirement. The monthly maintenance fee is $8, but the bank will waive the fee if you meet one of the following qualifications each month:
- 15 or more posted and cleared debit card purchases/payments
- $250 or more in combined direct deposits
- $1,500 or more average daily balance
Additionally, the bank will reimburse account holders for up to three non-network ATM fees.
Gold Checking
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Gold Checking is another interest-bearing checking account the bank offers, which offers expanded benefits, such as free checks. No opening balance or minimum balance requirement applies. The account includes a $15 monthly maintenance fee, which can be waived with one of the following qualifiers each month:
- $5,000 minimum daily balance
- $25,000 minimum daily balance across all deposit accounts and outstanding loan balances
The bank will reimburse account holders for up to five out-of-network ATM fees.
Community Hero Checking
Community Hero Checking, which earns interest and does not have a monthly maintenance fee, is for those in healthcare, law enforcement, education or the military. Other perks include up to three non-network ATM fees reimbursed per statement cycle, one free order of checks per year and free cashiers checks. And if you’re shopping for a new mortgage, the bank offers account holders $250 off closing costs.
Direct Checking
Direct Checking, which has no overdraft services or fees, is designed for those who want to keep their checking account simple and straightforward. Transactions that would cause an account to overdraft are declined; however, if the the account does overdraft, the bank does not charge a fee. A monthly maintenance fee of $5 applies to this account.
Savings Accounts
Here are the details on the bank’s savings account offerings.
SouthState Personal Savings Account
The SouthState Personal Savings account has no minimum opening balance requirement, and if you maintain a minimum balance of $200, you avoid the $5 per month maintenance charge. This account is free to account holders under 22 and pays APY on all balance tiers.
If you have both your checking and savings accounts at SouthState Bank, you can enroll in Round Up to Save. This program helps automate your savings by rounding up each debit card purchase to the next whole dollar and transferring the difference to your savings account. So if you make a debit card purchase of $5.55, your checking account will be debited for $6.00, and the extra 45 cents will be transferred to your savings account. At the end of the year, SouthState Bank will match up to 2% of your rounded-up savings, up to $250.
Gold Savings
The Gold Savings account has no minimum opening balance requirement. However, it differs from the Personal Savings account option because it pays different rates of interest for different balance tiers. The monthly maintenance fee is $15, but the bank will waive it if you maintain a $10,000 minimum daily balance.
SouthState Bank’s other savings accounts include Health Savings, Holiday Savings and Youth Savings.
CDs
The bank offers CDs in terms from 30 days to 10 years, which require a minimum opening deposit of $1,000. SouthState doesn’t publish its rates, so you’ll need to contact the bank for specific rates.
Money Market Account
SouthState Bank offers one money market account with the added benefits of liquidity and competitive interest rates that are paid monthly. It offers a – APY on balances $2,000 and up, depending on the balance tier. Here are some considerations for the account:
- A $12 monthly maintenance fee applies unless you maintain a $2,000 minimum daily balance or $5,000 average daily balance each statement cycle.
- $0 minimum to open, as there is no opening deposit required when opening an account online.
- You are allowed six withdrawal transactions per month.
- If you surpass six withdrawal transactions per month, you will incur a $10 fee per withdrawal.
Banking Experience
SouthState Bank provides its customers with a robust banking experience despite its relatively small geographic footprint. The bank offers online and mobile banking, money management tools and more.
The SouthState Bank mobile app lets you deposit checks, check your balance on your Apple Watch and set up alerts to let you know when your balance reaches a certain level. The mobile app is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on the App Store and 4.7 stars on Google Play. You can also send money with Zelle and set up your bills to be paid automatically.
The SouthState Bank website offers information and advice on setting and reaching financial goals and provides access to a financial advisor to help with long-term planning.
Comparable Regional Bank Options
When you’re looking for a bank for a long-term financial relationship, it makes sense to compare your options. Here’s a look at some other banks to consider and how they stack up against SouthState Bank.
First Horizon Bank
First Horizon Bank is a regional bank with locations in eleven states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. First Horizon also offers a comprehensive selection of banking products and services, but its mobile banking app seems to be lacking. Its rating is only 3.4 out of 5 stars on Google Play.
Truist Bank
Truist Bank is a much larger bank with over 3,000 locations throughout the Southeast and mid-Atlantic areas. Truist is the result of a merger between SunTrust and BB&T and is among the top 10 commercial banks in the United States. Truist has a wide range of checking, savings and investment products, but minimum opening deposits are $25 or $50 for most accounts, and there are requirements to waive the monthly maintenance fee in most cases.
Final Take To GO
SouthState Bank is a good place to keep all your accounts together, with local branches and online and mobile banking for when you’re on the go. Fees are low or nonexistent, which lets you keep more of your hard-earned money. Its financial education and Round Up to Save options will help keep you on track toward your financial goals.
SouthState Bank FAQ
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about SouthState Bank.- What type of bank is SouthState?
- SouthState Bank is a regional bank headquartered in Florida, with locations throughout the Southeast. The bank has over 1 million customers and over $44.9 billion in assets. It offers a wide range of banking products for consumers, as well as business and commercial customers.
- Is SouthState Bank a real bank?
- Yes, SouthState Bank is a brick-and-mortar bank with locations in six states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It is ranked as one of the best Southeast Regional Banks for 2024 by GOBankingRates.
- Is SouthState Bank FDIC-insured?
- Yes. Accounts at SouthState Bank are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 per depositor, or "ownership category." An individual account and a joint account are separate ownership categories, so you could have up to $250,000 in each of those types of accounts and still be insured.
- Did SouthState Bank get bought out?
- SouthState Bank was not bought, but in February 2022, it merged with Atlantic Capital Bank, which expanded SouthState's presence in Atlanta. The merger resulted in SouthState Bank being ranked eighth in market share in the Atlanta market.
Karen Doyle and Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.
Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 11, 2024.
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 discover the Best Regional Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top regional institutions (excluding online banks and neobanks) located in under 25 states. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) checking product minimum deposit; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) savings product minimum deposit; (5) savings product APY; (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) 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), (2) and (4) were weighted 0.5 times; factor (5) was weighted 2.5 times; and factor (7) was weighted 1.5 times.
For regional breakdowns, the same methodology as above was used. The regions were broken down into the following: West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX); Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI); Southeast (AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, LA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV); and Northeast (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT). To be considered for a region, a bank had to have a branch in one of the states listed and be headquartered in that state/region.
