When it comes to online banking, Radius has been making a splash over the last few years. They have been focused on offering top-notch online checking options, and recently started offering really competitive online business banking products.
However, Radius is an online and app-based bank. This could work well for you, but it may not be suited for everyone.
Radius is continually named to our list of best free checking accounts, and they are also on our list of best business bank accounts.
Learn more if Radius is right for you in our Radius review below!
Quick Summary
- Competitive online banking products (and app-based products)
- One of the few banks that offers interest-bearing checking
- Online business bank accounts for small businesses
Radius Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Rewards Checking |
Min Deposit | $100 |
Monthly Fees | $0 |
APY | Up to 0.15% APY |
Promotions | None |
What Is Radius?
Radius is an online bank but does have one branch, which is located in Boston, MA. Radius was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Boston, MA. The bank has $1.3 billion in assets and is a member of the FDIC and is an Equal Housing Lender.
Radius Bank was acquired by Lending Club on February 1, 2021, and rebranded as just "Radius".
What Do They Offer?
Radius serves personal, business, and institutional clients. It has a full suite of financial products that include checking, savings, CDs, loans, mortgages, insurance, credit cards, and more. In this article, we’ll focus on their checking and savings products.
They also have solid app-based checking accounts for both consumers and businesses.
Checking
Radius offers one main consumer checking account: Rewards Checking. It earn interest, does not have a monthly fee, and requires $100 to open. It also comes with unlimited ATM rebates. Your first order of checks is free. The account also comes with early direct deposit, which makes funds available early, assuming the payer supports this feature.
Rewards Checking doesn’t earn interest until you have a balance of $2,500. At that point, the account will earn interest up to $99,999.99. Above $100,000, the account earns even more!
For rewards, you earn 1.00% cash-back on signature-based purchases each month. They are also offering a bonus of an additional 0.5% cash back on specific spending categories. Account holders will now earn a total of 1.50% cash back spending in the following categories.
- Dining out - whether in-person, delivery or take-out (Ubereats, Doordash, Toast etc.)
- Health – like athletic store purchases and healthcare costs
- Subscription services – recurring transactions for your streaming services ( Spotify, Netflix, Apple etc.)
With the additional 1.5% cash back on the categories above, account holders will continue to earn their 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Savings
There are also two savings account products: Radius High-Yield Savings and Rewards Checking. The Rewards Checking is basically the same as the Rewards Checking mentioned above. There are a few more differences between the savings accounts products than checking products. Both products require $100 to open and do not have a monthly fee.
See how they compare to the top high yield savings accounts here.
Radius High-Yield Savings has two interest tiers:
- Lower APY on balances of $2,500 to $24,999.99
- Higher APY on balances of $25,000 and up
You get six preauthorized transactions per statement period. ATM withdrawals are free at ATMs displaying the SUM logo.
The Rewards Checking also has two tiers of interest earnings:
- Lower APY on balances of $2,500 to $99,999.99
- Higher on balances of $100,000 and up
Unlike Radius High-Yield Savings, there are no transaction limits with this account. You also earn 1.00% cash-back on signature-based purchases. ATMs worldwide are free.
CDs
Radius offers several CDs that range from three-month to five-year terms.
The three-, six-, and nine-month CDs require $1,000 to open. The one-year CD and up require $500 to open. Those numbers also coincide with the minimum balance required to earn the listed APY.
Business Checking
Radius offers one of the best online business checking accounts - the Tailored Checking Account. This account is top notch in that it doesn't have any monthly fees, and doesn't have any minimum balance requirements. Also, unlike many business accounts, it doesn't have any transaction limitations.
Plus, to really make it a top-notch account, it pays interest on your checking account! You can earn interest on account balances over $5,000. That makes it competitive with even the best business savings accounts.
You also get cash-back debit with Tailored Checking as well. You earn 1.00% on all purchases, and 1.50% back in these bonus categories:
- Advertising (Google, FB, Snap, etc.)
- Computer Equipment (Intuit, Newegg, HP, etc.)
- Computer Services (AT&T, Go Daddy, SquareSpace etc.)
With the additional 1.5% cash back on the categories above, account holders will continue to earn your 1% cash back on all other purchases.
The only drawback for the Tailored Checking account is that the business and personal products have to separate apps and you can't connect your accounts easily. If you plan to do all your banking (both personal and business), it's a little tedious to have two different apps and logins to manage.
Open a Business Tailored Checking Account here >>
Here's how Radius Business Tailored Checking compares to other top banks:
Header | |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating | |||
APY | Up to 0.15% | 1.00% | N/A |
Monthly Fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Min Deposit | $100 | $0 | $0 |
ATM Access | Unlimited | 38,000 Free ATMs | Unlimited |
FDIC Insured | |||
Cell |
Overdraft Feature
Radius allows you to link up to three accounts to pull funds from in the case of an overdraft. You can also apply for an overdraft line of credit.
The overdraft feature is not enabled automatically. You must fill out a PDF form and send it to Radius before the feature is available to you. Note that if an overdraft pulls from your savings account and causes its balance to fall below zero, the savings account can incur a maintenance fee.
Radius' customer service is available by phone, chat, and email.
Are There Any Fees?
While there aren't any monthly fees, the accounts do have certain service charges. Here are a few of the more common fees:
- There is a Daily OD (overdraft) fee of $5 per day for accounts that remain negative after an overdraft has occurred. The fee starts on the 5th day of the month after an overdraft.
- If you don’t use your checking account for 12 months, you’ll incur a $5/month Dormant Service Charge.
- NSF is $25 per item.
- Stop Payment is $25.
How Do I Open an Account?
Visit https://radiusbank.com to open an account online.
Is My Money Safe?
Yes — Radius uses 256-bit encryption and is FDIC-insured.
Is It Worth It?
Radius Review
- Interest Rates
- Fees and Charges
- Customer Service
- Ease of Use
- Tools and Resources
- Products and Services
Overall
Summary
Radius is a full service online bank that offers competitive personal and business products.
Pros
- Free interest-bearing checking account
- Top-notch business checking account
- Mobile-first banking
Cons
- Rates could be better, it’s not a true savings account
- If you need to deposit cash, it can be difficult
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.