Tiaa Bank, previously called EverBank, is a Florida-based financial services institution with an all-inclusive lineup of digital personal banking products. These include high yield money market accounts, certificates of deposit, savings accounts and even foreign currency CDs.

This U.S. bank features a limited number of brick-and-mortar branches, but you don’t need to visit these in order to manage your accounts. So Florida resident or not, you have access to this online institution.

When TIAA, short for the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, acquired EverBank Financial Corp in 2017, the institution became legally known as TIAA, FSB, and the online personal banking portion of the company was rebranded as TIAA Bank.

Complicated history aside, TIAA is a Fortune 500 company boasting incredible profits every year, but is it an online bank worth your time and money? Keep reading for all the information you need to know about TIAA Bank deposits accounts—as well as other pertinent banking and accessibility details—to decide whether this online bank is right for you.

TIAA Bank CD Rates + Account Details

TIAA Bank’s product suite features a few certificate of deposit options, including “Yield Pledge CDs,” and “Bump Rate CDs.” Their product line used to offer “Basic CDs” that came with APYs (annual percentage yield) slightly under the yield pledge products, but these appear to have been discontinued.

If you’re after a higher rate on a CD, consider you probably want to take a peek at their Yield Pledge CDs. These products are also backed by the high yield guarantee previously mentioned and features slightly better yields across the board.

Tiaa Bank has a higher than average minimum deposit requirement of $5,000 to open a Yield Pledge CD.

Yield Pledge CD Rates

To put these yields into perspective, a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD have an average yield of just 1.36% APY and 1.26% APY, respectively, according to FDIC data.

Bump Rate CD

The other type of CD offered through TIAA Bank is their Bump Rate CD.

The Bump Rate CD is a specialty CD that gives users a one-time rate bump feature that allows them to lock into a better rate that comes along before their certificate matures (this is the same as a step-up or step rate CD). Right now, this account is a 3.5 year term that requires a minimum opening deposit of $1,500 and earns 3.80% APY.

Interest is compounded daily and credited according to your account agreement upon issuance.

Grace Period and Early Withdrawal Fees

Tiaa bank allows for 10 calendar days (the grace period) upon your CD’s maturity in which you can add/withdraw funds, change terms, or close out the CD entirely without incurring any penalty fee. If nothing is done during the grace period your funds will renew into a new CD of equal terms and the going yield at that time.

If you need funds prior to CD’s maturity, you will incur an early withdrawal fee.

Early withdrawal policies on Yield Pledge CDs are as follows:

• 22 days’ interest on 3 month CDs,
• 45 days’ interest on 6 month CDs,
• 68 days’ interest on 9 month CDs,
• 91 days’ interest on 1 year CDs,
• 136 days’ interest on 18 month CDs,
• 182 days’ interest on 2 year CDs,
• 228 days’ interest on 30 month CDs,
• 273 days’ interest on 3 year CDs,
• 365 days’ interest on 4 year CDs, and
• 456 days’ interest on 5  year CDs.

Basic Savings and Yield Pledge Money Market

All of TIAA Bank savings accounts and deposits are federally insured by the FDIC up to $250,000, the maximum amount allowed.

TIAA Bank Basic savings account pays an APY of 2.25% on all balances and requires just $500 to open. The account has no fees to worry about and allows for mobile check deposits once you enroll in online banking and download their app.

Interest accrues daily and credits monthly to your account.

The TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Money Market accounts is their other variable rate account and this one pays an APY based on your balance amount. Rates are as follows:

Yield Pledge Money Market Rates

To put these yields into perspective, the average annual percentage yield (APY) on money market accounts across the country sits at 0.48% according to the FDIC.

There is a minimum deposit requirement of $500 to open one of these accounts. But ultimately, unless you have a large balance every month, you’re probably better off just opening a Basic savings account as you will earn more with that account on lower balance amounts than you would with a TIAA Bank money market account.

However, Yield Pledge Money Market accounts guarantee high rates through TIAA Bank’s Yield Pledge promise, which entails weekly competitor assessments and adjustments necessary to ensure that these rates are in the top 5% across Competitive Accounts. The Basic Savings account, conversely, does not come with this guarantee—do with this what you will.

Interest on savings and money market savings accounts is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Per federal regulation D, you are limited to 6 transactions into or out of a savings or money market account each month. This includes ACH transfers, checks, internet, phone, and mobile-initiated transactions, and more. Should you exceed this limit excessively or frequently, TIAA Bank reserves the right to restrict your access further and transfer your balance into a Cash Reserves account.

Banking Experience and Customer Sentiment

Unlike many online banks today, TIAA Bank actually does offer ATM cash access at an impressive 80,000+ fee-free locations. TIAA Bank does not charge ATM fees and will reimburse out-of-network fees imposed by other institutions if your average daily balance is at least $5,000. If your balance is below this, you’ll be reimbursed up to $15. There are 11 TIAA Bank branch locations across Florida.

TIAA Bank offers both a Basic Checking and a Yield Pledge Checking account option. A TIAA Bank Basic Checking will not pay you interest, but a TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Checking is an interest-bearing account that earns 0.10% APY on all tiers at the time of this writing.

Overall, people seem to have a lukewarm impression of TIAA Bank from a customer experience perspective. Out of 119 user reviews left for the bank on WalletHub, 45% of reviewers gave the bank 3 stars for an average rating of 3 stars. And out of 23 reviews on DepositAccounts, TIAA Bank scored just 2.5 stars. 

Customer service at TIAA Bank could use some work, according to customers themselves. The overwhelming majority of negative reviews left for the company are related to bad experiences with customer support, with representatives being called condescending, rude, arrogant, and unhelpful by several users. Most positive reviews pertain to good rates and simple sign-ups.

The TIAA Bank apps, on the other hand, are supposed to be really solid. With 4.6 stars on the App Store and 4.5 on Google Play, it’s safe to assume that you can count on a user-friendly and comprehensive mobile banking experience through the TIAA Bank app.

TIAA Bank limits ACH transfers from a TIAA account to an external account to $50,000 daily and from an external account into a TIAA account to $250,000 daily.

To reach customer service, call the client solutions team at 1-(888)-882-3837 or tweet @TIAABankHelp. Representatives are standing by 7 days a week from 8 AM to 11 PM (ET).