Quontic Bank Review: Multiple Ways to Earn High Yields

Quontic Bank overview

Quontic, known as the adaptive digital bank, was founded as a community bank in 2009 but has grown to become a digital bank that offers its services nationwide. It was the first bank to offer a bitcoin rewards checking account.

Quontic is designated by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which means it provides financial services to people who generally lack access to financing. Less than 3% of banks carry the CDFI designation. This includes non-traditional mortgages as well as FHA and VA loans.

Quontic’s financial services include checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), money market accounts, and mortgage loans. Funds in your Quontic savings and accounts have FDIC insurance protecting you against loss of up to $250,000 per account per depositor in the event that Quontic.

Not only does Quontic offer a broad range of savings and checking accounts, but it also provides interest on your deposited funds at high rates. They’re not quite the highest in the country, but 4.50% on savings and 1.10% APY on checking is definitely competitive.

While Quontic was the first U.S. bank to offer bitcoin rewards on a checking account in 2020, it appears to have discontinued this service, so you’ll find basic cash-back rewards or interest-bearing accounts.

A Quontic innovation you might not see anywhere else (yet) is the Quontic Pay Ring. It’s a wearable ring available for free to Quontic checking account customers that you can use in place of your debit card wherever you see the contactless pay symbol.

Additionally, Quontic offers the usual digital payment solutions:

• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay
• Zelle

Quontic High Interest Checking at a glance

Quontic offers a high interest checking account, which is great because not all checking accounts pay any interest. There are a few alternatives that give you an even higher rate of return, but the requirements to earn the higher APYs may be more complicated or difficult to meet.

It’s common to have to make a minimum number of debit transactions or meet a minimum balance requirement in order to earn the maximum APY on checking. If there are too many hoops to jump through, you may be better off keeping more of your money in a high-yield savings account instead and not stressing over earning the higher APY in checking.

Quontic High Yield Savings at a glance

Who is Quontic best for?

Quontic is best for people who prefer an online banking experience. The overall customer support experience is pared down, with no customer support hours on weekends and no access to a live chat feature.

But similar to many online banks that have lower overhead costs, Quontic provides competitive rates on its interest-bearing accounts. This typically means higher dividends for you compared to what traditional banks offer.

If you’re like me and you prefer a digital banking experience (I have to chuckle when my parents continue to write paper checks for birthday gifts), Quontic may be the right fit. Since you can handle both your checking and your savings there, as well as add money market accounts or CDs if you wish, it’s a fairly comprehensive banking solution.

You might also consider Quontic for your mortgage lending, especially if you have a unique situation that requires a non-traditional loan. Maybe you’re self-employed like me, or have alternative income sources, which can make it a bit trickier to apply for a traditional home loan. That’s where a Quontic home loan could be beneficial.

Compare a Quontic High Yield Savings account to a traditional savings account

The Quontic High Yield Savings Account offers an APY of 4.50% (as of Mar. 27, 2024), which is significantly higher than the current average APY of 0.45% (as of 10/21/24) for a traditional savings account. Choosing a high-yield savings account is really a no-brainer compared to accounts that pay a pittance on your balance.

For example, if you deposited $5,000 into a high-yield savings account, here’s how it would perform if the APY remained the same for 10 years compared to a traditional, lower-APY savings account. (The traditional savings account APY was pulled from the FDIC National Rates and Rate Caps.)

Assume you aren’t making any additional deposits, and interest compounds daily:

course, the longer you leave the savings in place, the more it grows. But you can definitely see how a high-yield savings account outperforms the old less-than-one-percent accounts, even within one year.

How to withdraw money from an account with Quontic

You can withdraw money from an account with Quontic by:

• Transferring money to another bank account
• Using an ATM
• Writing a check (not applicable to High Yield Savings accounts)
• Making a debit card purchase

Other Quontic fees

Although it’s helpful that Quontic doesn’t charge monthly account fees or overdraft fees, there are a few fees to be aware of.

Quontic customer service

You won’t find any in-person Quontic branches, other than some loan offices in Arizona, New York, and Florida. For the most part, Quontic is an online-only bank. But you can email the Quontic customer support team at info@quonticbank.com.

You can also a customer service member at this phone number if you have an existing mortgage: 1-855-300-7067

Otherwise, click through on the “Connect With Us” button on the Quontic help page to have a customer service representative contact you, or use the help section on its website

The customer service team is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. (If you already have a loan with Quontic, customer service hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. New loan hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST on weekdays.)

More banking products from Quontic

Apart from its High Interest Checking and High Yield Savings accounts, Quontic also offers:

• Cash Rewards Checking
• Money Market Account
• Certificates of Deposit

Cash Rewards Checking

Cash Rewards Checking is a non-interest-bearing checking account that rewards account holders in cash back for qualifying point of sale (POS) debit card transactions.

Here’s how the rewards checking account works:

• Offers 1.0% cash back for qualifying transactions (cash back is deposited into your checking account at the beginning of each statement cycle)
• Doesn’t earn interest
• Requires a $100 minimum deposit
• Has no minimum daily balance requirement to earn rewards
• Has no monthly service fees
• Offers access to over 90,000 ATMs
• Is FDIC insured

Money Market Account

Quontic Bank Money Market Account is a savings account that comes with a debit card and offers checks. Money market accounts work much like high-yield savings accounts.

Here’s how the money market account works:

• Offers 5.00% (as of 07/01/24) APY
• Requires a $100 minimum deposit
• Limited to six monthly withdrawals (then costs $10 per additional withdrawal)
• Offers a debit card with ATM access
• Offers check-writing privileges
• Has no monthly or overdraft fees
• Has no minimum balance for APY
• Is FDIC-insured

Certificates of Deposit

Quontic Bank CDs are savings accounts that lock in APY rates for a specific amount of time. As with any certificate of deposit, if you withdraw before the time is up — called the maturity date — you could be charged an early withdrawal penalty fee.

Here’s how Quontic CDs work:

• Offers up to 5.10% (as of 07/01/24) APY
• Requires a $500 minimum deposit
• Offers 6-month to 60-month CD terms
• Charges penalties of up to two years of interest on withdrawals before the maturity date
• Doesn’t allow you to add additional funds once a CD has been opened

If I wanted to split up my savings a bit, I might go with a 6-month CD for part of the money and a high-yield savings account for the rest. This way I could earn high rates without tying up my money for too long. You don’t run as much risk that you’ll need to withdraw the money early.

Alternatives to Quontic

Some other online bank accounts have similar features to Quontic’s, so let’s see how they compare. (None of these offers the contactless Pay Ring, though.) Think about what you want to get out of your bank account — earnings on savings, the ability to pay with a debit card or ring, or other services — when deciding what’s best for you.

EverBank

For another option that rewards your savings with a high APY, EverBank is a great choice. The Performance℠ Savings account pays 5.05% APY with no monthly account fee or minimum balance. EverBank’s checking and money market accounts come with 80,000 fee-free ATMs as well.

EverBank’s checking account has an APY of 0.4%, which would earn you about $39 on a $10,000 balance. It’s not as high as Quontic’s high-yield checking account at 1.10% APY, but customer service is available 24/7, unlike Quontic which is more limited.

BMO Alto Online Savings Account

If your primary goal is maximizing what you earn on your savings, BMO Alto Online Savings fits the bill. You can earn 5.10% APY on your balance as of July 31, 2024. You get this with no minimum balance requirement, no minimum initial deposit (though you must fund the account within 90 days), zero fees, and unlimited withdrawals and transfers.

BMO also offers competitive rates on no-minimum-deposit CDs including a 5.10% APY for a six-month CD and 5.05% APY for a 12-month CD. However, there are limitations to the BMO Alto savings account: you don’t get a debit card or checks, and it doesn’t support Zelle transfers, unlike Quontic.

Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus

For attractive checking rewards, you might take a look at Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus. Instead of a high APY, this account rewards customers with up to 2.0% cash back on certain purchases and 1% back on all other purchases. It comes with no overdraft fees or monthly fees. However, you do need to receive at least $1,000 in monthly direct deposits to earn the full 2% cash back.

Along with the checking account, you can open a Performance Savings Account paying up to 5.21% APY.

FAQ

Bottom line

Quontic is a digital bank, which means it has no traditional, in-person branches, which is just fine with me, but if you prefer an in-person banking experience, this company isn’t for you.

You can enjoy benefits with Quontic such as no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees and the chance to earn a great APY on savings compared to traditional banks. Plus, get to the forefront of contactless payment technology with Quontic’s Pay Ring, which isn’t found with any other U.S. online banks.

Another reason you might bank with Quontic is if you want to support a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that helps underserved customers receive non-traditional mortgage financing. But if Quontic doesn’t seem like the right fit for your banking needs, check out our list of the best banks for our top bank account recommendations.

Move your money to this little-known (but highly powerful) account ASAP

Quontic Bank Benefits

• Earn 4.50% (as of Mar. 27, 2024) APY²with this high yield savings account
• Accrue an APY² that’s over 14x³ higher than the national average
• Your eligible deposit accounts are protected and Quontic is a member FDIC⁴
• No monthly service or overdraft fees

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