MUFG, short for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is the fifth largest financial corporation in the world holding assets totaling around $2.6 trillion – yes with a “T.”

In the U.S., this institution operates as MUFG Union Bank, N.A., and PurePoint Financial is this massive bank’s personal savings division.

PurePoint Financial’s savings account was named a “Best Savings Account” in 2018 by Kiplinger’s and the hybrid digital bank was granted a prestigious FIS Impact Award for innovation in the same year.

But recognition aside, PurePoint Financial is a simple online bank with a limited number of products. Offering just a savings account and 2 types of CDs, PurePoint isn’t trying to facilitate all of your banking needs, but they will try and entice you into one of their high yield deposit accounts.

Below we review the FDIC-insured, deposit products PurePoint Financial has available for you.

PurePoint Financial Online Savings Account Details + APY

With PurePoint Financial, deposits are federally insured by the FDIC up to the maximum allowable amount of $250,000 per depositor. For joint accounts coverage is up to $500,000.

PurePoint Financial Online Savings Account

A PurePoint Financial Online Savings account comes with an APY of 0.40% making it a fairly competitive offer. This interest rate, of course, handily beats the exceptionally poor national average of 0.06% APY and will certainly provide you with above-average returns.

That said, there are currently higher yields with lower minimum balance requirements offered through other online savings institutions. This doesn’t mean that 0.40% isn’t a solid offer, it just means that for you rate chasers out there, you won’t be locking in the top APY. Keep in mind too, that these are variable rate savings accounts and the APY can change at any time without notice.

As mentioned, PurePoint Financial savings accounts require a high minimum opening deposit of $10,000. This is one of the primary drawbacks.

If you can meet the minimum deposit requirement, you’ll be relieved to know that the account doesn’t have any monthly maintenance fees. Plus, once you’ve made the initial $10k minimum deposit, you won’t be charged any fee if your balance dips below that $10,000 mark. Just know that you’ll only earn the advertised APY if your average daily balance meets the $10,000 threshold.

Interest is compounded daily and dividends are paid to your account monthly. Per federal regulation D, you may make no more than 6 transactions into or out of this account in a month. If you do, you’ll be charged an excessive transaction fee of $10 per deposit or withdrawal, not to exceed $50 per statement period under any circumstances.

This account can be easily funded via online funds transfer, wire transfer, mobile check deposit, or check by mail sent to the address below: PurePoint Financial P.O. Box 870 Glendale, CA 91209

PurePoint Financial CD Rates + Account Details

PurePoint Financial offers standard CDs and a No-Penalty CD. See the chart below for current rates on their certificates of deposits.

PurePoint Financial CD Rates

The going rate on a 12 month CD sits at just 0.22% APY nationally, making PurePoint Financial’s 12 month offer pretty attractive by comparison. However like their online savings account, better rates on 12 month deposits can be found elsewhere online and even through a handful of credit unions.

At the 12 month term onward, all of PurePoint’s certificates of deposit currently provide the same yield.

All PurePoint CDs, like the savings account, require a minimum deposit of $10,000. Interest is compounded daily and paid monthly. You may opt to have these dividends credited back into your certificate account or paid out to another account. 

You have 10 days after this certificate automatically renews to make penalty-free withdrawals or changes to your term. If you need to withdraw after this or before a CD matures, you will be charged a flat early withdrawal fee of 180 days’ interest. This is reasonable for longer terms, but steep for shorter ones.

Their No-Penalty CD provides a solid return without penalizing early withdrawals. So if you’re concerned that you may need some of your deposit before the product matures, you may want to consider one of these.

PurePoint Financial “No-Penalty CD” Rates

You may withdraw the total balance of your certificate as soon as 7 days after issuance without fear of fees or penalties with a No-Penalty CD.

The trade-off is that these rates are lower than those issued on their standard certificate counterparts, but the added flexibility may be worth the drop in APY.

The PurePoint Best Rate Commitment, attached to all certificate accounts, guarantees that you’ll get the best rate offered for 10 days after a new CD is issued or renewed.

PurePoint Financial Banking Experience & Customer Sentiment

ATM/debit cards are not available on any PurePoint accounts, so forget about using ATMs with any PurePoint Financial account. There are also no physical branches either, making cash access possible only through withdrawals by check.

So what do actual customers have to say about their experience banking with PurePoint Financial?

In general, not a lot. Very few user reviews have been left for this bank, especially when compared to the number of reviews usually left for banks and credit unions, so it’s difficult to definitively say how customers feel about their banking experience with PurePoint. However, PurePoint Financial, founded in just 2017, is a relatively new kid on the block and doesn’t have as many long-time customers as other digital banks do.

However, from what has been said about the bank, customer service is good and users can count on this, making for an overall positive experience. This support team is proactive enough in getting and responding to feedback that their representatives can be seen commenting on user ratings left on review platforms. Lowered interest rates are a common source of disappointment among customers, but this is pretty much a universal truth across many institutions. Many users have also reported that the application process can be a hassle, but this doesn’t seem to be the case for most.

At this time, PurePoint Financial doesn’t actually have a mobile banking app for Apple or Android devices. This doesn’t mean that you can’t log onto your account from your phone using the mobile web, it’s just not as user-friendly of an experience as native apps tend to be.

ACH transfers from external accounts into a PurePoint Financial account are limited to $250,000 per day and $1,000,000 per month. ACH transfers from a PurePoint Financial account into an external account are also limited to $250,000 per day and $1,000,000 per month.

The client support center is available to take your call Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time. There is no holiday or weekend availability. If you’d prefer, send a secure message through the online banking portal.

Final Thoughts

PurePoint Financial might fit the bill for some, but the majority of consumers might be wise to keep shopping around a bit more. PurePoint Financial never claimed to be a full-service bank, but its services and products are limited even for a digital institution. The fact that this bank doesn’t have a dedicated banking app definitely takes away from the convenience a digital bank is supposed to offer.

With no app, ATMs, weekend customer support availability, etc., the accessibility of this bank is somewhat poor compared to similar online-only banks. But if you are attracted by the rates at PurePoint, then this may be an OK option. Though their CD rates fall short of their competitors, PurePoint’s savings account is a solid option, and has remained near the top of the leaderboard over the past few months.