GE Capital Bank Online Savings Account Review

Serious savers tend to want a simple online savings account. If you’re looking for a competitive high-yield online savings account with a consistently competitive APY interest rate, this GE Capital Bank online savings account review can help you compare your options.
GE Capital Bank was originally founded in 1993 as a commercial finance arm of General Electric. In August 2015, GE Capital Bank announced its intention to be acquired by Goldman Sachs Bank USA (GS Bank). The decision involves USD 16 billion in assets from online savings accounts, online certificate of deposit (CD) accounts, and other/brokered CD deposits. GE Capital Bank is headquartered in Utah. According to GE Capital Bank press releases from 2015, the bank pays a consistently higher rate on customers’ savings to fund commercial leases and loans.

GE Capital Bank Online Savings Basics

You must submit an application and receive approval from GE Capital Bank before funding an account. You may request an individual or joint account. Submit your date of birth, Social Security/Tax Identification number. You must provide a U.S. street address. Post office boxes aren’t accepted as an address.
Clients of GE Capital Bank primarily interact with the firm through the online customer portal. There is no minimum deposit required to open a GE Capital Bank online savings account. The maximum account size is USD 1 million as of this writing. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures GE Capital Bank’s deposits up to the maximum amount of USD 250,000 per depositor. In addition:

• No transaction fees or monthly account maintenance charges are assessed to savings account customers.
• Interest on your savings account is compounded daily and paid on a monthly basis. You can decide to transfer your monthly interest to an external bank account or keep the money in your GE Capital Bank online savings account.
• The APY interest rate is considered variable—your APY may change after the GE Capital Bank savings account is opened.
• You may make up to six withdrawals each statement cycle as per federal regulations.

GE Capital Online Savings Account Funds Access

Unlike popular checking plus savings account options at Ally Bank or Capital One, GE Capital Bank doesn’t offer easy savings account access to clients. You may access your funds by:

• Electronic transfer: You may register four external bank accounts to direct funds in and out of your GE Capital Bank online savings account.
• Telephone authorization: You can check savings balances or transfer funds with the phone-automated system. Contact customer service to help from 7 am to 11 pm Central Time Monday through Friday.
• Wire transfer: You can send money from the GE Capital Bank online savings account to another U.S. financial institution at which you hold an account. If made before 3:00 p.m. Central Time, the wire transfer request is considered to occur on that business day. After 3:00 p.m. CT, the transaction request is received for the next business day.
• It can take up to three business days to process your transaction request.
• You may transfer up to USD 125,000 from your GE Bank online savings account (outgoing transfer). If you need to transfer a higher amount from your online savings account, you must make a request through customer service.

GE Capital Bank Online Savings Account Deposits

It’s possible to arrange direct deposits from your employer’s payroll operations or from a government agency (such as Social Security) to your online savings account or set up regular automated deposits to savings from another bank account you own:

• Provide GE Capital Bank’s routing number and your account number to facilitate direct deposits.
• You may make as many deposits as you wish, but you can’t deposit cash.
• Deposit paper checks to your online savings account by mail. If you’re drawing a check on another account at a U.S. financial institution, endorse the back of the check with your name and the directions for deposit only along with your account number.

GE Capital Bank Savings Products

GE Capital Bank offers customers with useful online tools such as an online savings calculator. According to current calculations, GE Capital Bank’s APY is almost 10 times the national savings average rate. Over several years’ time, a higher savings rate helps your money to grow faster. Compound interest accelerates this growth.
If you’re looking to invest liquid funds you don’t need for a term of months to years, GE Capital Bank offers certificates of deposit (CDs) from six month to six year terms:

• You can open an online certificate of deposit account with GE Capital Bank with a USD 500 deposit.
• The maximum CD deposit amount is USD 1 million. All deposits are insured by FDIC up to USD 250,000 per depositor.
• Rates on your CD are guaranteed for 10 days. If rates rise in the 10-day grace period, you will receive the higher rate on your investment.
• Don’t access money you invest in a CD before maturity unless it’s an emergency. You’ll pay an early withdrawal penalty in that case.In comparison with other large commercial banks’ CD rates over the past 12 months, GE Capital Bank’s APY is quite competitive. For instance, GE Capital Bank’s five-year CD rate is four times’ Citibank’s APY, almost five times’ Wells Fargo’s APY, about eight times’ Chase’s APY, and almost 15 times’ Bank of America’s APY rates.
  

  GE Capital Bank Online Savings Account Review for Serious Savers

  This GE Capital Bank online savings account review reflects the importance of saving at a competitive interest rate. In a historically low interest rate environment, traditional bank savings accounts pay almost nothing.
  GE Capital Bank doesn’t offer checks, debit cards, ATM access, a checking account, or a money market account option. Account holder reviews report that less access to savings can help to accomplish long-term savings growth.