Financial Fridays
Kasasa Is Here!
By Bill Jenkins - Countybank
Apr. 06, 2009 at 08:32 AM
Long overdue to post this after announcing on the show the other day, but here are the specifics on our new Kasasa program.
Kasasa is a national brand of banking products based on the philosophy that you the consumer should get something back for letting the bank use your money. Countybank is proud to be the first in the nation to offer Kasasa, and we’ll be introducing new products all year. To start with, we’re introducing Kasasa Cash. In keeping with our Financial Fridays series, this is a great tool for regular folks to use to start building wealth. Why?
Because Kasasa Cash is:
A free checking account that pays you 4.75% APY* on your checking balance from dollar one up to $25,000.
If you have more than that in your checking account you’ll earn 1.01% APY* on the balance over $25,000.
Kasasa Cash also reimburses you for foreign ATM transactions. This means you can use any ATM in the country for free! We’ll give you back the fees (theirs and ours) at the end of the cycle.
There are no minimum balance requirements and it only takes $100 to open a Kasasa Cash account.
What do you have to do to get this great rate and free ATM usage nationwide?
Just do these four things every cycle:
1. Use your debit card 10 times (atm transactions don’t count).
2. Accept electronic statements (coming soon).
3. Log into online banking.
4. Set up direct deposit or schedule an automatic draft payment from your Kasasa Cash account (this means you just need at least one recurring direct deposit or draft payment like an automatic insurance premium withdrawal each month, not that you need to set up a new one each month).
Chances are, you already do these things!
What happens if you don’t make all the qualifiers one cycle? You still get a great free checking account that pays a base rate of .02% APY*. You won’t earn the ATM fee reimbursements. But you can earn the bonus rate and ATM fee reimbursements the next cycle.
To learn more, visit our website at www.ecountybank.com (you can apply online) or stop by one of our branches in Greenville or Greenwood.
In May, our second Kasasa product will be available - Kasasa Tunes. For those of you who are music lovers, this free checking account will reward you with 5 free iTunes downloads every month when you meet the qualifiers (instead of paying interest), 10 when you sign up.
So here’s the stuff the government rquires us to publish any time we talk about an account or an interest rate:
*Annual Percentage Yield. APY on $.01 - $25,000 = 4.75% when monthly qualifiers are met. APY on balances from $25,000 and up = 1.01% when monthly qualifiers are met. Foreign ATM fees (including fees charged by Countybank for use of non-Countybank ATMs and any surcharges from ATM owner) are refunded at the end of each qualification cycle in which the four qualifiers have been met. To qualify for Kasasa Cash bonus rates, you must: 1. Make 10 debit card point of sale transactions per qualification cycle, 2. Receive your monthly statement electronically, 3. Set up one direct deposit or one auto debit monthly, 4. Access Online Banking at least once a month. In any month in which the four qualifiers are not met, this account pays the base rate of .02% APY. “Qualification cycle” means a period beginning one day prior to the first day of the current statement cycle through one day prior to the close of the current statement cycle. Minimum deposit to open Kasasa Cash account is $100. Rates are current as of 3/23/09 and are subject to change. Fees may reduce earnings. Earn iTunes® download refunds of $9.90 with initial account opening regardless of qualifications. Earn up to $4.95 in iTunes® download refunds each cycle the minimum qualifications are met. 5 and 10 downloads are based on $0.99 per download. Sales taxes may apply potentially reducing the number of downloads reimbursed. Foreign ATM fees (including fees charged by Countybank for use of non-Countybank ATMs and any surcharges from ATM owner) are refunded at the end of each qualification cycle in which the four qualifiers have been met. To qualify for Kasasa Tunes Downloads, you must: 1. Make 10 debit card point of sale transactions per qualification cycle, 2. Receive your monthly statement electronically, 3. Set up one direct deposit or one auto debit monthly, 4. Access Online Banking at least once a month. “Qualification cycle” means a period beginning one day prior to the first day of the current statement cycle through one day prior to the close of the current statement cycle Minimum to open account is $50. iTunes® must be purchased with your check card associated with your Kasasa Tunes™ account. iTunes is a trademark of Apple, Inc. The program is not endorsed by iTunes® or Apple® nor is there any actual or implied joint venture, partnership or relationship of any kind between the Bank and Apple’s® iTunes®. Member FDIC.
Got all that?
OK.
Well, that’s it for now. See you all on the show!
Bill
