Banking and Finance

Online Banking Review | Radius Bank

KK
July 27, 2021

About Radius Bank

Radius Bank is a competitive online bank that provides a full banking service with only one branch located in Boston, MA. The mission of Radius Bank is to deliver superior products and services to all customers who are trying to reach their financial goals and get the maximum benefits. To satisfy the growing banking needs of millions of customers and merchants, Radius Bank provides excellent products and exceptional customer services, leading the online bank industry. It is a good alternative for people who get tired of dealing with traditional banks. 

Radius Bank
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Pros & Cons

Pros 

  • High-interest rate

The Radius account offers competitive interest rates. You can earn different interest rates once the money in your bank account met the requirement, no matter checking or saving accounts. Any amount over $10 can earn interest and the rates are low, but it is better than nothing.   

  • No monthly maintenance fee

The Radius accounts do not charge a monthly fee, so you can save the maintenance fee to buy several cups of coffee. 

  • No ATM’s fee

Radius Bank won’t charge any fee for using another bank’s ATM and even for ATM out of the states. Any charged fee will be rebated at the end of each statement cycle. All of its customers can get unlimited monthly reimbursements for using other banks’ ATM. 

  • Low opening required amounts

Compared to some brick and mortar banks, Radius bank only requires $100 to open saving and checking accounts. 

  • Radius Bank is FDIC-insured

Although Radius Bank is an online bank, it is safe and secure enough because any customers’ deposits are FDIC insured to over $250,000.

Cons

  • Highest interest rate requires a large investment

The customer needs to invest a large amount of money to their bank account in order to earn the highest APY annually. The highest APY, 1.65%, requires $25,000 to activate, which means you cannot withdraw or early withdraw from your savings account in one year if you are willing to keep that rate.

  • No Zelle. Radius bank does not use Zelle.

Radius Bank is not listed on the Zelle list, so it takes time for the money to arrive when you send money to friends who are not Radius Bank’s customers. 

Pros & Cons
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Bonus 

Radius Bank offers a $50 bonus for new customers who open a checking account and set up direct deposit for 5 consecutive months. But the $50 bonus won’t go to your checking account right away. The $50 bonus will be separated and $10 will be put to your checking account for 5 consecutive months. The previous bonus is $100 which means anyone who wants to apply for Radius Bank should wait for a higher bonus. 

Accounts & APY

Generally, banks provide checking account and saving account. Radius Bank does the same but it helps customers save more time when opening accounts. The process of application only takes 3 minutes through the internet.


Radius’s Reward Checking allows you to earn up to 0.15% APY when your balance has more than $100,000. The APY you can earn is 0.1% when your balance is between $2,500-$99999.99. Radius Bank Reward Checking account offers an unlimited 1% cashback on debit card purchases after receiving $2,500 worth of direct deposits from an employer or another source of income or keeping $2,500 in your Rewards Checking account. 


For Radius’s High-Yield Saving, you can earn up to 0.25%APY when your balance is more than $25,000. The APY you can earn is 0.15% when your balance is between $2,500-$24999.99.

However, based on the previous APY history, the APY in both the checking account and the savings account will change. People who want to earn a higher APY should keep an eye on its changes. Click here for more account details. 

Online Banking
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Minimum Checking/Saving account Requirement

Radius Bank requires a $100 deposit to open a checking/saving account. After the $100, any customers do not have a minimum balance requirement. Although it doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement, it sets up a minimum balance to earn interest which is $2,500. It sounds less attractive for people who don’t have $2,500 as a deposit in their accounts. 

Fees

Overdraft Fee

The overdraft fee of Radius Bank is a little expensive for some cardholders. The Radius Bank will charge you a $25 overdraft fee for each item you paid or returned with a checking account. Besides, you will be charged $5 a day after the fifth calendar day that you leave your account in the negative. If you are unwilling to pay an overdraft fee, remember to set an alarm. 

Wire Transfer Fee

The Radius Bank will take out $10 from your account if you have an incoming domestic wire transfer. Similarly, the bank will charge you $10 if you have an incoming international wire transfer. It charges less compared to some banks and fits for people who do wire transfer frequently. 

Foreign Fees

The Radius Bank will not charge you any foreign fee in the transaction. But according to the terms and conditions, they pass on a 0.9% and 0.2% fee from MasterCard. If you don’t want to pay the foreign fee, try to use ATM without being charged any fee by Radius Bank. 


Customer service

Radius Bank is always dedicated to provide exceptional customer services in order to solve most financial problems and banking issues for their clients. The Radius team is well-trained and professional to respond to everything you might have during the banking program. You can easily contact them in-person meetings, phone calls, and email. If you wanna call the Radius Bank customer service team, the number is 800-242-0272.


Except for Radius’s card, Cheese debit card is an excellent card as well, helping you save money easily. Cheese offers a cash bonus and no banking fee. Sounds attractive? Click here to apply for the Cheese debit card.


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