Goldwater Bank, a small bank operating out of Scottsdale, Arizona is offering a very competitive 4% APY savings account. The minimum opening deposit is $1,500 and to get the listed rate you must keep at least $100 in the bank.

A customer service representative (CSR) stated that the rate was good until the end of the year although I'd verify this when opening an account (there's no discussion of this on the website).

The bank opened in 2007 and now has 14 employees and $29.8 million in deposits. It's too new to have a Bauer rating but it is FDIC insured (FDIC Certificate # 58405).

Acccount Opening

Once you fill in the online form, they'll mail you a signature card. You can mail a check with the signature card or do a wire transfer. They do not accept ACH transfers. Wire transfers are free.

Withdrawals

They only allow 6 withdrawals per quarter versus the usual six per month. There is a $20 fee for an outgoing wire transfer but it's free to request a cashier's check.

Interest Payments

They pay interest quarterly. If you withdraw money before the quarterly interest is paid, you lost all of the money accrued during the quarter,

How Does it Compare?

The Goldwater's 4% APY rate is tied withfor second according to the BestCashCow rate table with Amtrust Direct's e-Savings Account. Amtrust offers a smoother account opening process and has a $1 minimum balance. The rate is also below Everbank's 4.76% APY 3 month promo rate. Still, this is a very competitive rate.

Thanks to Bankdeals for passing this along.

See the best savings rates where you live here.

E-Loan is offering a boost to their normal savings account with the E-Loan Savings Plus Account. The account provides a significant boost to their savings rates. For example:

Savings Plus Savings

$100,000 or greater 3.85% APY 3.01% APY

$50,000 - 99,999.99 3.75% APY 3.01% APY

$25,000 - 49,999.99 3.51% APY 3.01% APY

To quality for these boost rates, customers must make regular monthly deposits into their savings account of at least $100. Any Savings Plus account that does not have a minimum of $100 per month deposit for over 60 days will be converted back to a standard savings account and the rates in effect for a standard savings account will apply. Savings Plus is a Money Market Deposit Account that allows up to six withdrawals per month.

These boost rates are competitive compares to some of the top savings and money market rates although there are other accounts that provide a higher return with a much lower deposit minimum and without requiring customers to make regular deposits.

E-Loan has offered traditionally high CD rates. E-Loan is owned by Banco Popular North America and has a Bauer rating of 3 out of 5 stars. As with any bank, we advise you keep your deposit amount under FDIC limits.

See the best online savings rates here.

Nationwide bank is offering a $25 bonus to open a money market at the bank. The bank's current money market rate of 3.52% APY is competitive and the bank has a soundness rating of 4 stars according to Bauer Financial.

The $25 promotion is scheduled to end on October 3, 2008. You can get it by using the promo code of MM080716 when opening an account. You can also call the bank to confirm its existence.

View the best money market and savings rates in the United States.