Pinnacle Bank Review [2024]: Banking in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri

We think Pinnacle Bank only makes sense for people who live in its regional service areas of Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. You can’t open an account if you live elsewhere.

But even if you live within this area, Pinnacle’s checking and savings accounts don’t earn high enough interest to compete with some of the best online banks or national financial institutions.

Let’s jump into our Pinnacle Bank review to see if this financial institution makes sense for you.

Key takeaways

Pinnacle Bank overview

Pinnacle Bank traces its roots back to 1938 when the Dinsdale family opened a bank in Palmer, Nebraska. Over 80 years later, Pinnacle and its 72 locations are still owned and managed by the Dinsdale family. While headquartered in Nebraska, Pinnacle also serves customers in Missouri and Kansas.

Pinnacle Bank checking accounts

Checking account	Description	Minimum to open	Monthly maintenance fee
Free Checking	Basic fee-free checking	$100	$0
Select Checking	Checking with paper statements	$100	$5 for paper statements
Diamond Secure	Checking with protection benefits	$100	$4 (additional $5 if you choose paper statements)
Interest Checking	Interest-bearing checking	$100	$15 ($0 with a $1,000 minimum balance, an additional $5 if you choose paper statements)
Relationship Account	Interest-bearing checking with protection benefits	$100	$25 ($0 with a $15,000 average balance or $50,000 across all Pinnacle accounts)

With a Pinnacle Bank checking account, you get a free debit card and access to an ATM network across seven states. You also get FDIC insurance of up to $250,000.

Note that all of these checking accounts require a minimum $100 deposit to open, which is higher than many of the best checking accounts.

Free Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY)	None
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	None
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

The Free Checking account makes sense if you want a simple fee-free solution for moving money around and covering everyday expenses.

The Free Checking account doesn’t earn interest, but you get a free debit card and don’t have to worry about monthly service charges. There’s a minimum $100 deposit to open this account.

Select Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY)	None
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	None
Monthly maintenance fees	$5 for paper statements
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

Select Checking makes sense if you want to receive paper statements each month to check your transactions and keep a physical copy. These paper statements have a fee of $5 per month.

However, we don’t really see this as a benefit, as you can typically print out your online statements anyway if you really want a paper copy.

Diamond Secure

Annual percentage yield (APY)	None
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	None
Monthly maintenance fees	$4 (additional $5 if you choose paper statements)
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

Diamond Secure makes sense if you want to take advantage of certain protection benefits, including identity theft protection and cell phone protection.

Keep in mind that this account has a $4 service charge per statement cycle and charges an additional $5 per statement if you choose paper statements.

Interest Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0%-1.56% (as of Jan. 24, 2024)1, depending on your balance
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	$1,000
Monthly maintenance fees	$15 ($0 with a $1,000 minimum balance, an additional $5 if you choose paper statements)
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

Interest Checking makes sense if you want to earn interest on your stored funds. Note that getting the highest APY rate requires a balance of $1 million or more, which isn’t obtainable for most people.

With this account, there are no monthly fees for maintenance if you keep at least a minimum $1,000 balance. If you fall below the minimum balance of $1,000, there’s a $15 service charge.

Relationship Account

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0%-1.58% (as of Jan. 24, 2024), depending on your balance
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	$15,000 average balance or $50,000 across all your Pinnacle accounts
Monthly maintenance fees	$25 ($0 with a $15,000 average balance or $50,000 across all Pinnacle accounts)
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

The Pinnacle Relationship Account makes sense if you want to earn interest and plan to maintain a large balance. Keep in mind that the highest APY for this account requires at least a $1 million balance, which might not be the best use of your funds if you want to earn money on stored cash.

This account also provides a slew of other benefits, including:

No fees for paper statements and notices Refunds of up to $25 in incoming wire fees per statement cycle Refunds for fees on up to 5 money orders and 5 cashier’s checks per statement cycle Your first box of checks for free

$300 credit toward home equity loans and lines of credit and secondary market real estate closing fees Cell phone protection Identity theft protection service

Pinnacle Bank savings accounts

Savings account	Description	Minimum balance	Monthly maintenance fee
PinnSavings	Basic savings with low fees	$100	$1 ($0 with a $100 minimum balance)
PinnCheck Market	Savings with higher APY	$1,000	$10 ($0 with a $1,000 minimum balance)

Pinnacle Bank savings accounts aren’t the most competitive with their APY rates, but they could make sense if you don’t qualify for other options. However, the best savings accounts tend to have more benefits and better interest rates.

PinnSavings

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.86% (as of Jan. 24, 2024)
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	$1 ($0 with a $100 minimum balance)
ATM access	Access an ATM network across seven states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

PinnSavings makes sense as a low-stress basic savings account since there aren’t any monthly maintenance fees if you maintain at least a $100 balance. You won’t earn much interest on stored funds, but it’s a secure place to keep your money as you work toward financial goals.

Note that there’s a $1 service charge if you fall below the minimum account balance. There’s also a $1 service charge for each withdrawal over six per month.

PinnCheck Market

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.89%-2.08% (as of Jan. 24, 2024), depending on your balance
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Minimum balance requirement	$1,000
Monthly maintenance fees	$10 ($0 with a $1,000 minimum balance)
ATM access	Access an ATM network across 7 states
FDIC insured	Up to $250,000

The PinnCheck Market makes sense if you want a higher APY, but it still doesn’t compete with money market accounts from top banking competitors. It’s also difficult to achieve the highest APY rate because you need a balance of $250,000 or more in your account.

Note that there’s a $10 service charge per statement cycle if your balance falls below the minimum. There’s also a $3 charge for performing more than six debits per statement cycle.

Additional Pinnacle Bank products

In addition to checking and savings accounts, Pinnacle Bank also offers these financial products.

• Credit cards: Pinnacle offers credit cards that you can use anywhere Visa cards are accepted. Some of the benefits include contactless payments and earning rewards.
• Loans: Pinnacle offers services for home loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, auto loans, and other types of personal loans.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): Pinnacle offers CDs but doesn’t publish their rates online, which makes it difficult to figure out their effectiveness as a savings product.
• Health savings accounts (HSAs): A Pinnacle HSA has a one-time setup fee of $25 and no monthly maintenance fees if you maintain a minimum $500 balance, otherwise, you’d pay a monthly fee of $3. You can invest a portion of your funds in an HSA investment account if your balance is $1,000 or more.
• Individual retirement accounts (IRAs): Choose from a traditional, Roth, or education IRA.
• Trust services: A Pinnacle trust officer can help you with trust and estate services to meet your unique needs.
• Business services: Pinnacle provides business checking and money market accounts as well as business credit cards, loans, and CDs.

What we like about Pinnacle Bank

• Various financial services: Pinnacle offers checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, a variety of personal loans, different types of investment products, and more.
• Highly-rated mobile apps: The Pinnacle Bank Nebraska app has a 4.6 out of 5 rating on Google Play and a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the App Store. The app allows you to perform a variety of banking activities through your phone without needing to visit a branch.
• In-person services: Pinnacle has 72 in-person locations across Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. You can also do online and mobile banking with Pinnacle.

What Pinnacle Bank could improve

• APY rates: The APY rates on Pinnacle’s interest-bearing accounts don’t compete against top competitors in the banking industry. Considering many of the best neobanks offer better rates, it doesn’t make much sense to go with Pinnacle unless you want access to in-person branches.
• Regional footprint: You can’t open an account with Pinnacle Bank unless you live within its service area, which includes only Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

Who is Pinnacle Bank best for?

Pinnacle Bank is best for people who live within its service area — Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. We tried to go through the process of opening a checking account online with Pinnacle, but we weren’t able to with Utah and Texas ZIP codes.

Even if you live within the required service area, Pinnacle still might not be the best option available to you. Its APY rates are lacking, and there aren’t any extraordinary benefits being offered that you couldn’t get elsewhere.

How to open an account with Pinnacle Bank

To open an account, you need to visit an in-person Pinnacle Bank branch or go through a quick online process. Here’s how to get started online.

1. Visit the applicable Pinnacle Bank page on its website for the account you want to open. For example, here’s the checking accounts page.

2. Select the Open In Minutes option on the applicable account.
3. Fill in your information, including your name and address. Note that if your address isn’t within Pinnacle’s service area, you won’t be able to open an account.

4. If your address is within the required service area, you’ll be able to proceed and will be asked to provide your Social Security number and date of birth before proceeding with the rest of the account creation process.

Pinnacle advertises that opening an account online only takes minutes, which is typical of many financial institutions. From what we could tell, the process is rather simple and quick.

Alternatives to Pinnacle Bank

Chime®²

Chime doesn’t charge many fees³⁴. That includes no monthly fees or foreign transaction fees. You also have the opportunity to receive your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit⁵. Additionally, you can earn an APY of 2.00% (as of Oct. 25, 2023)⁶ on your Chime Savings⁷ balance.

Visit Chime

…or read our full Chime review.

U.S. Bank⁸

The U.S. Bank Smartly Checking⁹ account makes sense if you want to avoid overdraft fees. This account comes with no-fee overdraft protection on overdrafts up to $50. It also has an Overdraft Fee Forgiven program on overdrafts higher than $50 when you make a qualifying deposit on the same day. There’s a $6.95 monthly maintenance fee that can be waived by having a U.S. Bank consumer credit card or an average account balance of $1,500 or more.

Visit U.S. Bank

...or read our full U.S. Bank Smartly Checking review. 

Pinnacle Bank FAQ

Pinnacle Bank review: bottom line

We don’t recommend Pinnacle Bank for most people because it’s a regional bank that only serves customers in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. If you live in one of these states, Pinnacle might make sense if you want in-person banking locations. However, keep in mind that you might be able to earn higher APY rates elsewhere.

If in-person branches aren’t important to you, there are better banking options available. Check out our recommendations for the best banks.