UFB Direct Review: Checking and Savings

High rate and no monthly fee. UFB's savings account has a strong rate of 4.01% APY for any balance. This online account also has no minimum deposit requirement and no monthly fees. This account is the one we considered in the bank’s overall rating. We consider it the bank's best offering to earn a strong rate and avoid fees.

UFB offers a higher APY of up to 4.21% on this savings account for customers who open a UFB checking account and can meet some requirements. The extra is added incrementally and to earn the first 0.05% APY boost, you have to set up direct deposits that total at least $5,000 monthly. After that, you can earn another 0.10% APY by keeping a minimum daily balance of $10,000 in your checking account. And you can earn a final 0.05% APY by making a minimum of 10 debit card transactions in each statement cycle (these debit card transactions have to be for more than $3).

Excessive withdrawal fee. Making more than six transactions per month to withdraw money from a savings account can result in a $10 fee per additional transaction.

High rate. UFB's money market account is one of UFB Direct's savings accounts, though we did not consider this one as part of the bank’s overall rating. The account offers 4.01% APY for any balance.

Monthly fee unless you meet a steep minimum daily balance. Unlike UFB's savings account, this account has a $10 monthly fee, though you can waive it if your average daily balance is at least $5,000. If you plan to keep at least that much in your savings account and want the ability to write up to six checks a month, this account might be a good choice for you.

No monthly fees and free ATM access. UFB’s checking account has no monthly fee or minimum requirements to open or maintain the account. Customers have free access to about 91,000 ATMs nationwide plus up to $10 in U.S. ATM fee refunds each month. There’s an ATM locator for logged-in customers in the app or on desktop.

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Strong interest rate. As far as checking accounts go, this product has a notable interest rate of 2.00% APY for all balances, and having the account can boost the rate on a savings account at UFB up to 4.21% APY. To earn the rate boost, one or more requirements must be met, such as direct deposits, a minimum balance, and a certain number of debit card purchases per month.

Highly rated apps and 24/7 support. UFB Direct has above-average mobile app ratings on Android and iOS devices as well as 24/7 customer support by phone. There is also chat support for logged-in customers. The website is relatively easy to navigate to find rates, fees and support information.

UFB Direct relaunched its savings and money market accounts nine times from August 2022 to November 2023, and customers of existing accounts must request to upgrade to the latest account to benefit from ongoing interest rate changes, such as by messaging or calling customer support. If you’re unsure what account you have, log into UFB’s site or app and compare it with the current account name. Here’s a rough timeline of accounts:

Expensive fee with daily limits. UFB Direct charges $25 per transaction when there are insufficient funds, whether the bank covers or declines the transaction. If multiple transactions occur in a day, there’s a daily maximum of $75, or three fees. Some banks charge higher overdraft fees – such as $35 – while others don’t charge overdraft fees.

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