Northpointe Bank opened its doors in 1999 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it is still headquartered today. It is a full-service commercial bank with a robust lineup of deposit accounts with APYs that beat the national average by quite a bit.

These include certificates of deposit, savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, IRAs and HSAs, and business accounts. You can read and/or print their current rate sheet for all of their deposit accounts using this link here.

This bank is also unique in that they offer a 7-day CD term and a kid’s savings account.

As noted, Northpointe Bank offers competitive rates on many of its products, but their rates are still lower than some of the top yields available nationwide.

Keep reading to learn more about this bank’s FDIC-insured product lineup and terms in our comprehensive review below.

Northpointe Certificate of Deposit Rates + Details

Northpointe Bank offers only one type of certificate of deposit account with terms available between 7 days and 60 months.

All CDs require a minimum deposit of $1,000 to open.

CD Rates

To put these yields in perspective, the current national average for a 12-month CD and a 60 month CD is 0.25% APY and 0.48% APY, respectively, according to recent FDIC data.

Calculating Interest

Interest is compounded monthly and credited monthly back to the certificate. This is the default payment arrangement, but account holders can opt to have their interest paid out to a different Northpointe Bank checking or savings account or transferred via ACH transfer to a linked external bank account instead.

Early Withdrawal Penalties

The early withdrawal penalty fees are a little above the average, so do your best to avoid withdrawing early. Here are the fees for each CD term:

• Early withdrawals from CD terms of between 7 days and 179 days incur a fee equal to 30 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn
• Early withdrawals from CD terms of between 180 days and 365 days incur a fee equal to 90 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn
• Early withdrawals from CD terms of between 1 year and 3 years incur a fee equal to 180 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn
• Early withdrawals from CD terms of between 3 years and 5 years incur a fee equal to 240 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn
• Early withdrawals from CD terms of more than 5 years incur a fee equal to 365 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn

Grace Period

Northpointe Bank certificate of deposit accounts automatically renew upon maturity at the same term length, but there is a standard grace period of 10 days during which you can withdraw all of the money in your account without incurring early withdrawal penalties. This 10-day period begins on the day your account’s term ends.

Northpointe Bank Savings Accounts

Northpointe Bank has two savings accounts: the Ultimate Savings account and the Kid’s Savings account. Let’s talk about the Ultimate Savings account first.

The Ultimate Savings account requires a minimum opening deposit of $100 and offers an APY up to 0.35%. Take a look at the interest rate available at every balance tier.

Ultimate Savings Rates

To put this in perspective, the national average rate for a savings account is currently sitting at 0.08%.

Interest is compounded and credited monthly back into the savings account.

There is no minimum average daily balance requirement, but you won’t earn interest unless you have at least $100 in there. Also, it’s quite a jump to go from 0.25% to 0.35% because you need at least $5,000 in the account to get the best rate this bank offers.

Per federal regulation D for savings accounts, all users are permitted to make up to six withdrawals per month. Any withdrawals you try to initiate beyond this will cause you to be charged an excess transaction fee of $5 each time. Northpointe Bank may also choose to prohibit excessive withdrawals. 

If you close this account within 120 days of opening it, the bank will charge you a one-time fee of $10.

Kid’s Savings Account Rates

The Kid’s Savings account requires a minimum opening deposit of just $10.

Users just need to maintain a positive balance to earn interest and can earn 1.49% on up to and including $1,000.

Interest is compounded and credited monthly and there are no low balance or maintenance fees.

Northpointe Bank Checking Accounts

There is a checking account available through Northpointe Bank that does not earn interest, the Free Checking account, and one that does earn interest, the Interest Checking account.

The Free Checking account is pretty much your standard checking account. It does not earn interest and requires $100 to open, but you do not need to maintain a balance of $100 or more to keep this account or avoid fees. This account comes with a free debit card (or $4.95 custom debit card) that can be used anywhere.

You can use your Northpointe debit card to make ATM withdrawals or deposits and are eligible to receive up to $15 in foreign ATM reimbursement. You may not exceed $500 in ATM withdrawals per day or deposit more than $10,000 at a time.

Now, let’s move onto the Interest Checking account. This account pays up to 0.30% APY. 

The national average rate for interest checking accounts currently sits at 0.03%. While 0.30% is not bad when compared to the national average, it is far below what we’ve seen available at other banks especially following the FED’s historic rate hike on June 15, 2022. The top online savings account yields are now above 1.50% APY.

This account requires a minimum opening deposit of $2,500, which is much higher than most checking accounts. You can make this deposit by ACH transfer from an external bank, check deposit, transfer from another Northpointe account, direct deposit, or wire transfer. You can let your balance drop below $2,500, but you won’t earn any interest at all.

Interest is compounded and credited monthly into your account, and calculated using the daily balance computation method. This account also reimburses users for up to $15 in foreign ATM transaction fees each statement period (all Northpointe checking accounts offer this benefit).

Fees

There are a few fees that you might encounter with these accounts. These are:

• Non-sufficient funds: $29
• Automatic overdraft transfer: $8
• Foreign transaction: 1%
• Same-day bill payment: $14.95
• Return items: $10
• Dormant account (defined as more than 12 months of inactivity): $5/month

There are no fees for ACH transfers, standard bill payments, incoming wire transfers, account maintenance, or low balance. There is a $10 early closure fee for closing an Interest Checking account within 120 days of opening but no fee for closing a Free Checking account early.

Northpointe Bank Money Market Accounts

The Northpointe Ultimate Money Market account is a standard money market account that offers tiered interest rates.

Right now, the national average rate for a standard money market account is just 0.09%. Northpointe is clearly a better choice, but you do need to have quite a high balance to make the most of this account and the highest-earning tier is just not realistic for most. Also, there are plenty of money market accounts out there offering comparable or better rates on lower balances.

A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required to open this account. You can make this deposit from another Northpointe account or a different bank. 

Interest is compounded and credited monthly back into your account.

You are permitted to make up to six transactions or withdrawals using this account each statement period. You will incur a fee of $15 on each item in excess of six. If you close this account within 120 days of opening, you will be charged a $10 early closure fee.