Kasasa Accounts

Mancolt

Level 2 Member
Is anyone familiar with, or does anyone have a Kasasa Cash or Kasasa Saver account? It seems almost too good to be true. Local Credit Unions and Banks have banded together under the Kasasa moniker and are able to offer unparalleled APYs on deposits/balances. The website is: https://kasasa.com/ and a list of Kasasa banks/CUs can be found here: https://www.depositaccounts.com/kasasa/

There are a large number offering 2.00% APY on balances up to $10k, and sometimes up to $25k or more. They also appear to offer Kasasa Saver accounts, which earn 1.00% APY (comparable to the best major online banks) with a fair number of them offering that on up to $25k (some as high as $50k). The limits are a little disappointing, but probably worth the hassle to set up given the double or more interest rates they offer.

The biggest challenge I've seen is filtering down to those in your local area, and that you might be eligible for. Looks like I have a lot more reading to do.

Searching this forum turned up a few mentions of Kasasa accounts, but nothing more. They were mentioned as a very small part of the larger thread discussions.
 

dpd82

Level 2 Member
I've used a Kasasa checking account for several years. The CU is associated with my profession and is local. It pays 3% on balances up to 10K, and requires 12 pinless transactions/month to get the 3%. SquareCash transactions count toward your 12. The dividends show up on my account on the next business day after the close of the month. ATM fees are automatically refunded. Since I still manage to MS, even in this depleted environment, I've always kept at least $10k in my checking account. Keep looking for something better than 2% and one that doesn't require more than 12-15 debit transactions, unless you typically use debit anyway.
 

Mancolt

Level 2 Member
The one I found offers 2.27% APY on balances up to $35k, but requires 12 debit card transactions. I created another thread in level 2 about ideas of how to meet the debit card transactions.

While a high APY is the goal, that's not the sole thing to consider. Account eligibility (after all, I have to be able to meet the CUs requirements or be in the bank's eligible service area) and dollar thresholds are also important. I created an Excel spreadsheet to model the different options at various CUs and Banks to calculate my annual return in total $ (yes, I'm nerdy like that).

If I only had $10k, then I think APY and eligibility would be my only concerns, since almost all Kasasa Checking accounts pay high interest rates on up to $10k (some are $15k, some $20k, $25k, $30k, etc). Highest I've seen though was $35k on a Kasasa checking, and since I have more than that I'm looking to put away, I need to find some place that maximizes my overall return. And I don't want to have multiple Kasasa Checking accounts at multiple banks/CUs that each have their own debit card transaction requirements to manage.

To illustrate my point, see the following 2 examples:

Kasasa Checking
CU 1: $35k @ 2.27% interest, using 12 compounding periods/year for 1 year, will pay $802.82.
CU 2: $20k @ 3.01% interest, using the same compounding and time period, will pay $610.37.

Each of those Credit Unions also offer Kasasa Savings accounts, which can be used for the balance of my investment. Assume I have $55k to put in one of these Credit Unions.

Kasasa Savings
CU 1: $20k @ 1.00%, same terms as above, will pay $200.92.
CU 2: $35k @ 1.00%, same terms as above, will pay $351.61.

The total invested is the same for CU 1 and 2, but for CU 1 the combined interest payment is $1,003.74 compared to CU 2's $961.98, even though CU 2 offers the higher rate on the Checking account balance.
 

Mancolt

Level 2 Member
@dpd82 Thanks, I tend to over analyze and research things before making decisions! It doesn't help that I'm also suggesting my girlfriend do the same thing I am with her money, because she's right now earning a paltry 0.32% on a fairly sizable amount of money at a Mega bank. It's one thing to risk my own money/make decisions about my own finances, but another entirely to be responsible for hers. She is not particularly financially savvy (though she is fiscally responsible!), so I feel even more pressure because she trusts me so much when it comes to this.

That's why I asked if anyone had any experience. Compared to mega and online banks, Kasasa seems almost too good to be true. But I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work as advertised. The only downsides I can think of are potential difficulty transferring money into/out of and making deposits, since the CU I've identified isn't local, as well as the fact that smaller CU's don't tend to have as sophisticated/stable websites as the big financial institutions. I think the interest rates offset any potential hassles (especially if they turn out not to be real) though.
 

traveler

Level 2 Member
I manage 8 RCAs of various flavors - 4 of them are Kasasa accounts.

IMO, the best currently available HY checking account is Consumers Credit Union, paying 4.59% on up to $20k. The catch is that you have to spend $1k on their credit card each month to unlock the high rate. They offer a cash rewards card with 3% cash back on groceries. I buy 2 $500 VGCs and load to Gobank or MO each month. That nets another $18 per month profit after GC fees. CB is capped at $6000 spending and then drops to 1% so after 6 months you start netting $4ish - gives a total annual cashback rate of 1.5%. A bit of opportunity cost but we max out our BCP and other cards with high grocery rewards categories so we're leaving almost nothing on the table.

My wife and I have 2 of these funded to the max and combined they generate ~$200/month in interest.
 

gr8t.2b.free

Level 2 Member
My spouse and I have used a kasaka checking account for at least 5 years. It is not as good of a deal as Traveler's Consumers Credit Union though. We get 3.01% up to balance of 15K.
Requirements are:
  • Have at least 12 debit card purchases post and settle
  • Be enrolled in eStatements
  • Have at least 1 automatic payment (ACH) direct deposit or auto debit post and settle
We use this account for our emergency savings money. I use the debit card to make small purchases at work like soda or a salad from the cafeteria occasionally to reach the transactions. I used to buy Amazon gift cards and buy them in 25 cent increments, but they now have a minimum that is too high for me.

To answer the original poster's question, Kasaka really does work.
 

volker

Level 2 Member
I used to buy Amazon gift cards and buy them in 25 cent increments, but they now have a minimum that is too high for me.
50cents is too high? That $6/month. On the other side the fully automated way is $5 minimum, the manual process 50cents/transaction.
 
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