Emigrant Direct Has Onerous Money Transfer Rules

I have had an online savings account with Emigrant Direct since the end of 2005, primarily because it has one of the highest interest rates available, which is currently at 5.05%. Up until last week I had only electronically transferred money into the account from a checking account with my primary banking institution.

Last week, however, decided to electronically transfer funds from the Emigrant Direct account to both my Vanguard and Ameritrade brokerage accounts. I have done such transfers in the past with my old ING Direct account, and never had any problem doing so. Unfortunately, Emigrant Direct has very onerous rules regarding money transfers. Apparently they will only electronically transfer money into "checking" accounts, but not into "savings" accounts. I'm not really sure what the legal distinction is between the two types of accounts, but apparently brokerage accounts are considered to be savings accounts. Emigrant Direct blocked the transfer and I ended up being hit with margin fees in my brokerage account because I had purchased some stock when I thought that the money had successfully been transferred.

The really annoying thing is that Emigrant Direct didn't even bother to notify me that my electronic transfer request had been rejected. Anyone who uses Emigrant Direct should consider himself or herself forewarned. I now realize that to transfer money into a brokerage account, I will need to first transfer the money into my checking account with my primary banking institution, and subsequently transfer that money from that particular checking account over to my brokerage account. I'm not sure why Emigrant Direct has this silly restriction, but it is pretty burdensome to say the least.

Emigrant Direct Is Raising Its Money Market Interest Rate to 5.15% On July 28

Today I received a letter from Emigrant Direct which contains a secure 10 digit access code for a new Emigrantdirect.com website. The letter also indicates that Emigrant Direct is raising its money market interest rate to 5.15% on July 28, 2006. The new rate will be 0.80% higher than the relatively platry 4.35% currently offered by INGDirect.

Emigrant Direct Raises Its Money Market Interest Rate to 4.80%

I just saw an online advertisment for Emigrant Direct which indicates that they have raised their money market interest rate to 4.80%. I'm not sure if they raised their money market interest rate today, but it must have happened sometime within the past few days. Emigrant Direct now pays more than half a percent more than INGDirect, which currently pays a paltry 4.25%.

Emigrant Direct Raises Its Money Market Interest Rate to 4.65%

I just saw an online advertisment for Emigrant Direct which indicates that they have raised their money market interest rate to 4.65%. As far as I can tell, this rate change was implemented today. Emigrant Direct now pays half a percent more than INGDirect, which currently pays a paltry 4.15%.

Maximize your money market interest income

Anyone who has at least a couple thousands dollars laying around should consider opening an online money market account to maximize their interest income. Emigrant Direct currently pays 4% on its money-market account and requires no minimum balance. ING Direct offers 3.5% interest on its money-market account and also fails to require a minimum balance. Another good thing about these accounts is that both are FDIC-insured up to $100,000. The only real catch is that you have to electronically make deposits/withdrawals to/from the account. For example, you can electronically transfer money between your banking institution and your online account. This is no problem and is similar to the direct deposits that many people make with their paychecks into their bank account.