Grand Yield Savings Direct account

New on the online savings account scene is the Grand Yield Savings Direct account, an account of New York’s The Apple Bank For Savings, which compares favorably with Emigrant Direct’s American Dream Savings Account^TM and HSBC’s Online Savings Account (check the sidebar for current APYs).

The account itself seems pretty good, but I have a few issues with the Apple Bank website. For one thing, there is no link to the Grand Yield Direct account from the main Apple Bank site. There are a number of possible reasons for this, but it’s still strange. Furthermore, the GYD’s section of the site is very unrefined, and seems to use a third party’s system for making transfers and adding linked accounts. This is something that, hopefully, will be smoothed out as soon as Apple Bank realizes the demand for online banking.

The following text is from the Apple Bank website:

“No minimums, no service charges, no worries. Just a great rate and direct access to your savings account. So sit back and relax. Your banking is done for the day.”

With a Grand Yield Savings Direct^sm account, you earn a variable 5.27% annual percentage yield (effective 11/07/06) on your savings everyday. Your money is FDIC insured to applicable limits, making your account a secure and worry-free investment that is also liquid and flexible.

There is no minimum balance required to open your Grand Yield Savings Direct account and just $1.00 is needed in your account at all times to earn our high interest rate (currently 5.27% APY). The account is a tiered-rate account, (see “How do you calculate interest?“) presently paying the same rate on all tiers. For more details, please see the account disclosure.

Interest on the Grand Yield Savings Direct account is compounded daily and credited to your account each month. Interest is earned on daily balances of $1.00 or more at the following tiers: $1.00 - $24,999.99, $25,000.00 - $49,999.99, $50,000.00 - $99,999.99, and $100,000 or more. At present, the stated APY applies to all tiers. For more details, please see the account disclosure.

Deposits are FDIC insured up to $100,000 per qualifying ownership. Individual and joint accounts are insured separately, so if you have both types of accounts with us, your total deposits can be insured up to $200,000; that is up to $100,000 in all of your individual accounts and up to an additional $100,000 in your joint accounts.

Grand Yield Direct is the consumer online banking partner of Apple Bank for Savings, which first opened its doors for business in 1863 and has operated continuously since that day. With over $5 billion in assets, it stands today as the fifth largest savings bank in the State of New York and one of the strongest depository institutions in the nation.

Today, Apple Bank operates nearly 50 full-service neighborhood branch locations throughout greater New York, continuing to expand and reinforce its commitment to build long-term relationships with the communities it serves.

Apple Bank for Savings considers your online security to be of utmost importance. We use secure socket layer (SSL), 128-bit encryption to keep your data private and secure. To learn more about how you can ensure the security of your Online Banking information and transactions, please visit:
Apple Bank for Savings Security Information
Apple Bank for Savings Online Banking & Disclosure Agreement