OneUnited Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs

OneUnited Bank is a Black-owned financial institution that offers checking, savings and CDs.
Margarette Burnette
By Margarette Burnette 
Edited by Yuliya Goldshteyn

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OneUnited Bank
  • Checking
  • Savings
  • Certificates of deposit
  • Customer experience
  • Overdraft fees

Overall institution rating

3.5

NerdWallet rating 
The bottom line:

OneUnited Bank is a Black-owned financial institution that offers checking, savings and certificates of deposit accounts with low or no monthly fees. The bank provides online accounts and serves customers in-person at a few branches in the Boston, Los Angeles and Miami areas. The bank’s mobile apps earn high app store ratings, and customers have access to more than 35,000 surcharge-free ATMs. However, its bank accounts have average to low interest rates.

Best for: Customers who want checking and savings accounts with no or low monthly fees, make only a few savings withdrawals each month and want to support Black-owned banks.

Pros

  • No monthly fees on some checking accounts.
  • Large, free nationwide ATM network.
  • Highly rated mobile apps.

Cons

  • Expensive overdraft fee.
  • Low rates on some savings accounts and certificates of deposit.
  • Monthly fees (though they are avoidable).
  • Limited branch access.
  • Excess withdrawal fees.

Full review

Checking

OneUnited Bank Black Wall Street Checking
OneUnited Bank Black Wall Street Checking

Checking

Member FDIC

4.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
Monthly fee
$0

The Black Wall Street Checking account has no monthly fee and provides access to more than 35,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the country as part of the MoneyPass network. You need only $25 to open the account, whose name gives the nod to the historic Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a thriving community known as “Black Wall Street” before the devastating 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

» Want to learn about other minority-owned banks? Read more on black-owned banks and credit unions

OneUnited Bank also offers other types of checking accounts, with options for customers who want to earn interest, are 65 or older or are interested in “second chance” checking due to past banking issues.

Savings

OneUnited Bank BankBlack Savings
OneUnited Bank BankBlack Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

3.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
0.10%
With $200 min. balance for APY

The BankBlack Savings account scores well because its $5 monthly fee is easily waived with a direct deposit or electronic funds transfer deposit. It also has a low $25 minimum opening deposit. However, the annual percentage yield is low.

This is not the account for you if you take money out of savings several times a month. There is a $2 “charge per debit” fee for each withdrawal over six per month. In addition, some types of withdrawals, including online transfers, incur an additional $20 excess transaction fee for each transaction above six per month. Other banks charge much less.

Certificates of deposit

OneUnited Bank UNITY® Gold E-CD
OneUnited Bank UNITY® Gold E-CD

CD

Member FDIC

1.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
1-year APY
0.25%
3-year APY
0.30%
Minimum deposit
$500

OneUnited offers certificates of deposit with terms that range from 90 days to four years. The bank’s online CDs have a minimum opening deposit of $500. That’s relatively affordable — some large banks have minimum deposits of $2,500. However, the interest rates on OneUnited’s CDs are low compared to other banks.

Customer experience

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

The bank’s mobile apps get high ratings in the app stores and offer standard electronic money transfer and mobile check deposit features. OneUnited’s website also has a library of video tutorials on topics such as saving for financial goals and avoiding overdraft fees.

Customer service is available by phone for extended hours Monday through Friday but isn’t available on weekends. In addition, the bank is active on Twitter and generally gives quick responses to customers who reach out on that platform.

Overdraft fees

3.0

NerdWallet rating 

OneUnited Bank offers optional overdraft protection, but it can be costly. The bank charges $37 per overdraft transaction, up to six times a day. But the bank does not charge a fee for overdraft protection transfers. If you link another OneUnited bank account as a backup and a transaction prompts an overdraft, the bank would transfer funds to the checking account from the backup account for free. Though it’s nice that OneUnited provides free overdraft protection, other banks also offer this service for free while charging less for overdrafts (or not at all).

Methodology

NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.