[Update May 2021: TIAA Bank’s variable rate savings products including their popular Yield Pledge Money Market account haven’t had a single rate change in all of 2021. That said, their fixed rate CDs have all seen a bump in APY by around 0.10% this year.]

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 Basic Savings + Yield Pledge Money Market Account Details

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 accounts are one of the bank’s less impressive product choices. Although they are significantly higher than the current national average (which hovers around 0.07% APY currently), they are still much less competitive than other online offers.

Though uncompetitive, these accounts are accessible. You only need to deposit and maintain an average daily balance of $25 for a Basic Savings account with TIAA Bank.

If your balance drops below this minimum, you’ll be charged a $5 fee every month until you get it back above the threshold. If you happen to live in Rhode Island you are exempt from this low balance fee. This account also charges a $30 non-sufficient funds fee on overdrafts.

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 has an APY of 0.40% on all balance tiers.

TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Money Market

The average annual percentage yield (APY) on money market accounts across the country sits at just 0.09% currently.

There is a minimum deposit requirement of $500 to open one of these accounts. But ultimately, unless you have more than $25,000 ready to go, you’re probably better off just opening a Basic savings account as you will earn more with this on lower balances than you would with a TIAA Bank MMA. 

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.

TIAA Bank CD Rates

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 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.

Unfortunately, you’ll need to cough up at least $5,000 to be eligible for any of these accounts.

TIAA Bank Yield Pledge CD Rates

To put these offers (above) in perspective, a 12 month CD currently yields roughly 0.14% APY, according to national FDIC averages.

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 0.70% APY.

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

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.

Unlike most bank deposits, these CDs do not automatically renew and come with a grace period of 10 days after maturity.

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 a 1-year intro APY of 0.40%. After that, your APY will be between 0.15% and 0.30%, depending on your balance.

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).

Final Thoughts

TIAA Bank has a diverse and competitive set of FDIC-insured certificates of deposit and variable rate savings accounts.

They are certainly worth checking out if you’re searching for an online bank that can handle all of your banking needs and offer respectable rates across the board.

Just be careful not to sign up with this bank for its introductory offers without knowing what you’ll get long-term. The 1-year introductory period on a TIAA Bank Yield Pledge MMA, for example, would definitely make just about anyone want to join, but the ongoing rates, while respectable, are still less competitive than other bank rates.

Overall though, Yield Pledge guarantees, low balance requirements, and mostly competitive rates make this bank a solid choice.