OptimumBank Review: Community Bank, Competitive Offers

OptimumBank was founded in 2000 to offer a traditional, in-person bank for consumers and businesses located in South Florida. Its mix of affordable services and local branches leans into an authentic community feel.

True to its name, the mission of this bank is to combine online tools with traditional community values to provide the “optimum” way to bank.

Local brick-and-mortar banks are becoming harder to find, so let’s see how OptimumBank is catering to customers through its in-person services.

What Is OptimumBank?

OptimumBank is a small, community-based bank focused on the in-person experience for customers living in the Florida counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. Not only did the founders offer local investors the opportunity to own a portion of the bank, but they also brought in local experts in real estate and commercial lending to meet the needs of their customers.

OptimumBank is a subsidiary of OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. It maintains a staff of roughly 50 employees and offers a variety of consumer and commercial banking services. Earlier this year, OptimumBank closed summer loans totaling more than $52 million.

In the first half of 2023, OptimumBank’s total assets increased by about $48 million, from $585 million in December 2022 to $633 million in June, which the company attributes to increases in new customer loans and deposits. These results, coupled with the company’s strategic goals, point toward continued asset growth this year.

“The bank continues to focus on the customer … while still achieving community banking at its best, where customers are a name, not a number,” according to an OptimumBank company release from August 2023.

What Does It Offer?

OptimumBank targets consumer and business customers based in South Florida by offering a variety of ways to meet those customers’ banking and lending needs locally. 

Checking

“Individual needs and lifestyles call for different types of checking accounts,” per OptimumBank’s website. For that reason, OptimumBank offers a broad range of checking accounts for personal and business needs:

Personal Accounts

• Simply Free Checking
• Direct Interest Checking
• 50+ Interest Checking
• Ultimate Interest Checking
• Optimum Money Market

Business Accounts

• Simply Free Business Checking
• Commercial Checking
• Business Interest Checking
• Not-For-Profit Checking
• IOLTA
• Optimum Money Market

Like most modern banks, OptimumBank also offers free and secure remote banking services, enabling you to manage your accounts, deposit checks, review and approve transactions, make transfers, and pay bills in real-time from the palm of your hand.

While mobile banking services can be limited, online banking services provide additional features for viewing transaction statements and exporting those transactions into .CSV file format compatible with external software that makes bookkeeping for your business seamless and accessible.

Related: Best High-Interest Checking Accounts

Savings

If you open a checking account, you may also wish to use a savings account. You can choose from three types of Optimum savings accounts: Regular Savings, a Certificate of Deposit (CD), or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

The Regular Savings account allows you to “earn interest on deposit balances with easy access to your funds.” There is a $100 minimum deposit to open the account and a $500 average daily balance required to avoid the $10 monthly maintenance fee.

However, OptimumBank also has an amazing savings account they're offering in partnership with Raisin. This account currently earns 3.90% APY with just a $1 minimum to open. Check out this online savings account here >>

If you are instead thinking about a time horizon further into the future, then a CD or IRA may be a better option. The minimum deposit required to open either of these accounts with OptimumBank is $1,000, and you can choose a CD term length from 3-60 months.

Related: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts

Lending

OptimumBank only offers business lending. It does not have any lending for personal use.

OptimumBank offers three forms of business lending. Commercial real estate loans are available to investors who own and/or operate commercial real estate, such as multi-family, retail, industrial, or office spaces.

Lines of credit (LOCs) offer customers funds for working capital needs, such as expanding your business, consolidating higher-interest loans, or covering unexpected expenses. Unlike a traditional loan, a business line of credit is renewable. The amount of available credit refreshes with each payment, like the process of paying off a credit card.

Lastly, term loans provide financing and repayment plans that align with your business cycle’s cash flow.

Related: Best Personal Loan Companies and Online Lenders

Are There Any Fees?

For personal accounts, OptimumBank does not charge any monthly fees for its checking accounts, except for the Ultimate Interest Checking. The Ultimate Interest Checking has a $6 monthly fee which can be waived if you maintain an average daily balance of $1,500.  

Personal CDs and IRAs do not have any monthly fees, but the savings account does. The Regular Savings has a $10 monthly fee unless you maintain an average daily balance of $500.

Keep in mind, other fees associated with these accounts, such as overdraft or wire transfer fees, may apply.

On the business side of things there is one checking account that doesn't have a monthly fee, the Simply Free Business Checking. Here are the other checking accounts and associated monthly fees: 

• Commercial Checking: $15 monthly fee that cannot be waived.
• Business Interest Checking: $15 monthly fee waived with a $5,000 minimum daily balance
• Not for Profit Checking: $10 monthly fee waived with a $500 minimum daily balance

Other fees may apply such as analysis fees or transactions fees. Be sure to read the fine print of any account you decide to open. 

How Does OptimumBank Compare?

OptimumBank offers a variety of banking and lending services to customers in the South Florida area. For a bank focused on the in-person experience, it does a good job of ensuring that its services are also available online and integrating a digital third-party payment network to give customers a fast and easy way to send and receive money.

A huge perk of OptimumBank’s brick-and-mortar offices is that they’re accessible to South Florida-based businesses that deal heavily in cash transactions and need to deposit cash. 

That said, OptimumBank’s approach to banking feels a bit dated. While it is a good option for nearby residents and small business owners, you may prefer to bank with a larger, “one-stop-shop” institution like Wells Fargo, which goes beyond checking and savings accounts and also offers credit cards and expanded investment options. Wells Fargo also has over 500 branches throughout Florida.

Truist Bank is also widely represented in Florida with over 200 branches. They have a full suite of banking products for both individuals and businesses. 

How Do I Open An Account?

To read more about account options and open one yourself, visit OptimumBank online or find the app in the app store of your mobile device to get started with remote banking. You can also open an account and check current account rates by calling either number listed above.

You’ll need to share personally identifiable information to initiate account setup and create a login. Depending on the account type you wish to open, you may also need to make a minimum deposit.

Opening an OptimumBank account shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

Is It Safe And Secure?

Yes, OptimumBank is insured by the FDIC up to the limits of federal law: $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. Furthermore, given that OptimumBank is a subsidiary of OptimumBank Holdings, Inc., and the latter is a publicly traded company, this bank is held to a high standard of financial transparency.

How Do I Contact Greenlight?

OptimumBank can be reached at either of its locations, by telephone, or via a secure email to [email protected].

Corporate Office – East Commercial Boulevard

• Address: 2929 East Commercial Blvd., Suite 101, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Phone: (954) 900-2850

Branch Office – Hillsboro Boulevard

• Address: 2215 West Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday*
• Phone: (954) 900-2880

*Note that the Deerfield Beach location also has a drive-through window with the same operating hours as the main building.

Is It Worth It?

For local personal and business finance needs in the Fort Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach areas, OptimumBank is a solid option. Customers who want the ability to walk in and talk to someone about their accounts or deposit cash on a regular basis may be a good fit for OptimumBank. And for those who want to take advantage of the high deposit interest rates in today’s market, OptimumBank also meets that need.

Overall, though, there are thousands of banks in the U.S., and many can offer more comprehensive packages that include similar interest rates bundled with other products. Plus, when you bundle products under a single bank, you can often save more on fees or earn more interest.

OptimumBank Features