EverBank (Now TIAA Bank) Review

Update 2/22/19: EverBank is now TIAA Bank.

Since I was tired of getting only .1% on my emergency fund, I decided to open an online money market account with TIAA Bank. They were paying out 1.10% for the first six months and then .86% for the first year. This was light years beyond what I had been getting in a traditional high yield account, so I decided to give it a shot.

Here is my review of EverBank’s yield pledge money market account.

4

Overall Rating

Summary

If you are looking for a higher paying alternative to traditional banking, EverBank is a great solution. The yield is significantly better and with no monthly fee, it is hard to find a reason why not to open an account.

• Monthly fees

  4.5

• Minimum Deposits

  3.5

• Mobile checking

  4

Pros

• No monthly fee
• Mobile check deposit
• Refund ATM fees

Cons

• High min deposits
• No car loans
• Limited ATMs

• Learn More

How I Opened an Account In 10 Minutes

The application process was swift. It took me around 10 minutes. Keep in mind that I was taking notes, so you may be able to finish it sooner.

The minimum amount required to open an account was $1,500, so I wrote a check for just that. (Hey, I didn’t want to throw all of my eggs in one basket without first giving it a test run!)

I mailed in the check along with a page that required my signature, and within five days I received an email letting me know that they received my application. They also notified me that my welcome kit and account number would arrive in the mail in about 5-7 business days.

The timeline was to be expected since it is an online bank and because I decided to mail the check and paperwork. They did have an alternate method to wire the funds and fax the signature page, but I’m old school (truth be told, I don’t have a fax machine).

When we received our welcome packet, it included our account number which is required to set up online access. Once I had online access, it prompted me to select if I would like online bill payments and to receive e-statements.

Unfortunately, online bill payments are only available for checking accounts, but that wasn’t a problem for us since it was for our emergency fund and I didn’t plan on making any payments out of it.

Setting up online transfers to external bank accounts

Setting up online transfers was easy. They asked me for my routing number as well as my account number for the bank we wanted to make transfers to/from.

Then, they made two small transactions in that account to verify that it was my account and I wrote down those amounts, signed into EverBank, and verified the bank account that I wanted to attach. 

Review of the EverBank Mobile app

My first impression of EverBank is that there is great security. It asked me a series of questions, like what address is associated with a particular street that we lived on, what county we lived in, etc.

I almost felt stumped when I didn’t recognize any of the street names. But then I realized that “none of these” was an answer.

EverBank lets you deposit checks right from your phone

I decided to try this out for myself. So, I wrote a check for $3,500 to myself and then followed the process outlined below.

I was impressed with how simple it was! I got an email saying that the check had been processed. My funds would be available the next business day.

One thing to note is that there is a $5,000 limit to depositing checks from your phone using the EverBank App. Here’s how you do it:

1. Take a picture of the front of the check
2. Take a picture of the back of the check
3. Enter in the amount
4. Select the account you want to deposit the money into
5. BOOM, you’re done. It’s that simple.

Key Features of Everbank’s Yield Pledge Money Market Account

• Top 5% yields always
• $1,500 to open
• Move money up to 6 times a month
• Mobile check deposits
• No monthly fee
• FDIC insured

Pros of having an EverBank account

• High Yield (Top 5% yields always based on Bankrate Monitor’s National Index)
• No Monthly Fee
• No ATM Fees on non-EverBank ATMs for accounts with balances over $5,000
• Integrates with Mint.com

Cons of having an EverBank account

• Limit of $50,000 for the “bonus interest rate” as well as the 1st year APY
• Takes up to two weeks to open an EverBank account if you choose to mail in the paperwork and check. It will take less time if you decide to wire the funds instead.

Review Summary

If you’re looking for a higher paying alternative to traditional banking, EverBank is a great solution. The yield is significantly better, and with no monthly fee, it is hard to find a reason why not to open an account.

Just keep in mind that they are an online bank, so it does take time to open the account. However, once the account is open, everything else moves as quickly as a traditional brick and mortar bank.