TAB Bank Review: Competitive APYs With Low Minimum Opening Deposits
GOBankingRates Score
Tab Bank
-
Checking Accounts
4.0
-
Savings Accounts
4.0
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CD Accounts
4.5
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Banking Experience
4.5
Pros
- Low minimum opening deposits
- Competitive annual percentage yields
- Lack of monthly maintenance fees
- Solid mobile experience
Cons
- Lack of savings and money market options
- Online-only bank
TAB Bank Overview
TAB Bank is a relationship-driven financial institution based in Ogden, Utah. Founded in 1998, TAB — which stands for Transportation Alliance Bank — initially provided banking services exclusively for truckers. Decades later, TAB is an online bank serving individuals, families and businesses.
TAB Bank’s personal banking products include checking and savings accounts as well as a money market account and certificates of deposit. Although it still tailors its services to truckers, you don’t have to work in the transportation industry to open a TAB Bank account. Whether you should open one depends on how well TAB fits your banking preferences and financial goals.
In GOBankingRates’ Best Banks rankings for 2023, TAB Bank’s offerings ranked among the Best Online and Neobank Savings Accounts and the Best CD Accounts. Here’s everything you need to know.
Key Features
To help you decide if TAB Bank is right for your financial needs, here’s information about its key features.
Checking Accounts
TAB Bank has two checking options — one of which allows you to earn rewards.
Kasasa Cash Back
With the Kasasa Cash Back account, there’s no minimum deposit to open. Also, you won’t have to worry about minimum account balances or monthly maintenance fees, and you’ll be eligible to start earning rewards in your first monthly cycle.
You can earn unlimited 1% cash back on debit card purchases. However, you’ll have to qualify to earn rewards by making at least 15 purchases of $5 or more and one qualifying direct deposit, bill pay transaction or ACH payment each month. The account also will refund out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees, up to $5 each and a maximum of $15 monthly.
Chrome Checking
Because TAB Bank recognizes that truckers have unique needs when it comes to depositing payments, such as Comdata checks, T-Cheks or EFS checks, its Chrome Checking account is the perfect pick for such individuals. The account requires only $25 to open and pays a APY on the account’s balance.
One drawback is that the account does have a monthly service charge of $8. However, TAB Bank will waive the charge if you maintain a $1,000 minimum daily balance, have at least eight debit card purchases post to your account during each monthly statement cycle, or have at least $1,200 in direct deposits per monthly statement cycle.
Savings Accounts
TAB Bank’s High Yield Savings account ranked among GOBankingRates’ picks for the Best Online and Neobank Savings Accounts of 2023. The account has no minimum deposit to open. It also features no minimum monthly balance requirement and no monthly maintenance fees, which means that your funds stay where they belong — in your savings account.
At least $1 is required to start earning interest. But with the APY, you’ll likely want to put as much money as you can into the account so you can reap the profits.
CD Accounts
GOBankingRates ranked TAB Bank’s CD offerings among the Best CD Accounts of 2023. By investing in a CD, you can earn more money than with TAB Bank’s other deposit options, but you have to be willing to let your CD mature until the end of its term before you can reap the profits.
TAB Bank has eight different CD options, with terms ranging from six to 60 months. Rates start at APY for a six-month CD and max out at APY for a 60-month CD. You must maintain a $1,000 minimum daily balance to earn the published rates, and you’ll incur an interest penalty if you withdraw your money before the CD matures.
Banking Experience
TAB Bank is an online-only bank, so you won’t be able to visit a branch in person. However, you can reach TAB Bank at 800-355-3063 six days per week. Customer service hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. MT, Monday-Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. MT on Saturday. You can also reach the bank through a secure online message by filling out the contact form on its website.
If you’re interested in opening a new account, you can reach TAB Bank’s New Accounts Team at 800-215-7128 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
TAB Bank offers a solid mobile experience, and because it is an online-only bank, that’s important. The app allows you to complete banking tasks like checking your balances, transferring money between accounts, paying bills and submitting mobile deposits.
The app is available for both Android and iOS users with a rating of 4.7 stars on the App Store and 4.4 stars on Google Play.
Comparable Banking Options
Now that you know more about TAB Bank’s products and services, here’s how the bank stacks up to its competitors.
Axos Bank
Axos Bank offers up to APY on its high-interest checking account, and TAB Bank’s APY on its interest-bearing Chrome Checking account pales in comparison.
However, Axos Bank can’t compete with TAB Bank’s CD rates. Axos offers up to APY, while TAB Bank offers up to APY.
Bank of the West
Bank of the West offers account holders the convenience of Zelle to transfer money, while TAB Bank does not.
However, Bank of the West has monthly service charges on all of its accounts, including its money market account, while TAB Bank does not charge a service fee for its money market account, high-yield savings account or cash-back checking account.
Final Take
TAB Bank offers competitive rates across its range of deposit accounts, plus a lack of fees for most of its accounts and easy options for avoiding fees on accounts that have them. If you’re looking for an online-only bank with a solid mobile experience, this bank is worth considering.
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TAB Bank FAQ
Here are answers to some of the more commonly asked questions about TAB Bank.- How do I transfer money from TAB Bank?
- You can transfer money from a TAB Bank account to an external account through a wire transfer or ACH transfer.
- Is TAB Bank FDIC insured?
- Yes, TAB Bank's accounts are insured up to the maximum limits offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
- Is TAB Bank a good bank?
- TAB Bank is a good bank if you're interested in an online bank that offers deposit accounts, including CD accounts with very competitive rates. However, if you are looking for a bank that offers non-business-related lending to individuals, you'll want to look elsewhere.
- What does TAB Bank do?
- TAB Bank is an online bank that serves small businesses, families, and individuals through its deposit accounts and business lending products.
- Is TAB Bank an online bank?
- Yes, TAB Bank is an online-only bank.
Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.
Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 5, 2023.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
To determine rankings for the Best Online and Neobank Savings Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all online banks and neobanks: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) minimum deposit to open an account; (3) monthly savings fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) minimum balance needed in account to earn APY; (5) savings APY; and (6) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factor (1) was weighted 0.5 times, factor (4) was weighed 1.5 times and factor (5) was weighted 3 times.
To determine rankings for the Best CD Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all banks (excluding credit unions): (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) 12-month CD APY; (5) 60-month CD APY; and (6) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, factor (3) was weighted 2 times, and factors (4) and (5) were weighted 4 times.
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