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Valley Bank Savings Account Review

Valley Direct Savings
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Michael Graw
Feb. 19, 2024
3 min read
Michael Graw
Valley Direct Savings Summary
Valley Bank is a New Jersey-based bank founded in 1927. The bank has branches in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Alabama, plus Valleydirect in all 50 states. Valleydirect offers a high-yield savings account in which your money will earn unlimited 5.25% APY. You can open an account online with just $1 and enjoy no monthly maintenance fees. There’s a $.01 minimum balance required to earn interest and no lock-up period for withdrawals.

Pros

  • Earn 5.25% APY on all savings
  • $.01 minimum balance requirement
  • No monthly maintenance fees

Cons

  • Physical branches only in four states
  • Doesn’t offer online checking accounts

Valley Direct Savings at a glance

9.4
Editorial score

Fees?

None
10.0

Security

FDIC insured up to $250,000. Protected by SSL encryption and biometric and two-factor authentication.
10.0

Customer service

Phone and email support from 8am-6pm (ET) Monday-Friday, 200+ physical branches in four states.
8.0

Online experience

User-friendly site for checking balances and making transfers. Rates are transparent before account opening.
10.0

Mobile experience

Free mobile app for iOS and Android. Enables checking balances and initiating transfers.
9.0

Valley Direct Savings Valley Direct Savings Visit Site

Advantages Over Traditional Banks

Valley Bank’s Valleydirect savings account offers unlimited 5.25% APY on your savings. As of October 2023, that’s more than 10 times the national average rate of 0.43% APY for savings accounts.

Another benefit to the Valleydirect high-yield savings account is that it doesn’t carry any fees or lock-up periods. You can withdraw your money at any time, and there’s a very low $.01 minimum account balance to maintain to earn interest.

You can also open a high-yield savings account with just $1.

Cutting-Edge Banking Services

The Valleydirect high-yield savings account is fairly simple. You can’t write checks from the account or pay bills. Valleydirect doesn’t offer checking accounts, although you can open a checking account through Valley Bank and link it to your savings account.

The main things you can do are earn interest on your funds and move money into and out of the account. It’s easy to monitor how much interest you’ve earned using the Valley Bank online portal or mobile app.

Traditional Banking Services

Valleydirect only offers a high-yield savings account and certificates of deposit (CDs).

Valley Bank, which operates Valleydirect, has a much wider selection of traditional banking services including checking accounts, additional savings accounts and CDs, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and credit cards. 

Valley Bank also offers personal and business loans, mortgages, and financial planning services. The bank has more than 200 branches across New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Alabama.

Interest Rates and Fees

The Valleydirect high-yield savings account offers interest at a rate of 5.25% APY. You can open an account with $1, and there’s a minimum balance requirement of just $.01 to earn interest after opening your account. The account doesn’t have any fees.

Minimum DepositInterest RateAccount Fees
$15.25% APY $0

Customer Service and Online Experience

Valley Bank offers customer support by phone and email from 8am-6pm (ET) Monday-Friday. You can also visit any Valley Bank branch to get help with a Valleydirect savings account. However, the bank doesn’t offer support by live chat.

Customer reviews of Valley Bank are generally positive and many note the helpful service they received from employees when visiting a branch. 

The Valleydirect website has a helpful FAQs page with more information about how to open a savings account and how it earns interest.

You can open a savings account online in less than five minutes. You’ll need to provide a copy of your ID and your social security number. You’ll also need to connect an account at Valley Bank or another bank to make the minimum $1 deposit. Overall, the sign-up process is quick and straightforward.

Mobile App

Valley Bank offers a free mobile app for iOS and Android. You can use the app to access your Valleydirect savings account as well as any other accounts you have with Valley Bank.

The app lets you check your account balance and see how much interest you’ve earned. You can also initiate transfers out of your savings account to a linked bank account or download account statements.

You cannot deposit checks directly to your Valleydirect account. However, if you have a Valley Bank checking account, you can use the mobile app to make mobile check deposits. It also lets you set up bill pay and offers an interactive map of Valley Bank branches. 

Security

Valley Bank protects your account with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, biometric authentication, and two-factor authentication. You can also set up alerts to be notified when funds move into or out of your savings account.

Valley Bank has a dedicated fraud team, which also supports Valleydirect. Still, as a Valleydirect customer, you can contact the customer service team during support hours to get help if you suspect fraudulent activity in your account.

The Valleydirect high-yield savings account is insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category.

Summary

The Valleydirect high-yield savings account from Valley Bank offers unlimited 5.25% APY interest on your savings. You can open an account with just $1, and there are no account fees and a minimum balance of just $.01 to maintain in order to earn interest. 

You’re also free to withdraw funds from the account at any time. It takes less than five minutes to open a Valleydirect savings account online, and you can easily manage your account through the free Valley Bank mobile app.

Valley Direct Savings Valley Direct Savings Visit Site

Methodology

This review is based on information on the Valley Bank and Valleydirect websites.

Michael Graw
Written by
Michael Graw
Michael Graw is a Bellingham, Washington-based writer focusing on finance, tech, and science. His work has been featured in print magazines and high-impact websites. He writes for BestMoney and enjoys helping readers make sense of the options on the market.‎
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