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Image of Westerra credit card with text "Earn up to 6.00% APY and up to $120 or more every year

Make your money work with Smart Money Checking

Meet the reverse tier checking account designed to help you earn interest on smaller balances.

Earn interest on daily balances

Keep an average daily balance between $.01-$2,000 and score 6.00% APY.* That's up to $120 a year.

Earn rewards on purchases

Earn 1 reward point for every $3 of purchases signed for. Rewards include travel, gift cards, fuel, cool stuff, and cash back. Check 'em out.

Guaranteed interest for your account

Even if you don't meet the monthly requirements to max out your APY, you still earn .01% APY.

Earn more interest with cascading tiers.

Westerra Smart Money Checking is a reverse tier checking account. That means that you earn bigger returns on smaller balances, and smaller returns on bigger balances. Your first $2,000.00 will make you 6.00% APY, and then your next chunk of cash will make you 3.00% and so on when you meet the requirements.** This is our way of keeping the returns rolling, so you can keep saving.

Even if you don't meet all the monthly requirements (they're listed below) to get up to 6.00% APY, you're guaranteed to earn .01% interest.

Smart Money by the Numbers

BALANCE

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE YIELD (APY%)

$0 - $2,000.00

$2,000.01 - $4,000.00

$4,000.01 - $6,000.00

$6,000.01 - $8,000.00

$8,000.01 - $10,000.00

$10,000+

If requirements are not met**

Westerra Smart Money Checking Benefits and Perks

  • No monthly maintenance fee

  • Debit Rewards – Earn 1 point for every $3 spent*

  • Early Paycheck: Get paid up to 2 days early with direct deposit

  • Apple Pay® / Google Pay™ / Samsung Pay™

  • Overdraft protection services and Courtesy Pay***

  • Mobile Deposit

Learn more about checking account and card services.

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Maxing out your APY is as easy as 1, 2, 3

Meet these monthly requirements to earn 6.00% APY.

  1. Make at least 16 combined debit/credit card transactions per month

  2. Deposit at least one $500 or more direct deposit or ACH payment per month

  3. Enroll in e-statements

And good news: even if you don't meet these monthly requirements, you're still guaranteed to earn .01% APY on your account. (We love a good backup plan.)

Earn big interest on even small balances.Try our calculator.

Enter your deposit amount to see how much you could earn in one year.

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Explore our Checking and Savings Accounts for Students

Understanding money management is a big step in becoming independent. Our studentaccounts and financial resources are here to help students start their financial journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 5/1/2024. The interest rate and APY may change without notice after the account is opened. Fees may reduce earnings on the account. $5 prime share deposit required for membership. A $25 opening deposit is required for a Smart Money Checking account. 6.00% APY applies to average daily balances up to and including $2,000. For average daily balances greater than $2,000, the APY may range from 0.05% to 3.00%. If requirements** are not met, all balances will earn .01% APY. In order to get the higher rates, you must meet certain requirements each month. If you don’t meet the requirements, an APY of 0.01% APY applies to all balances. Limit one Smart Money Checking Share per account. Membership eligibility required. Federally Insured by NCUA.

Points not earned for cash back, ATMs or PIN based transactions.

**The requirements needed to receive the dividend rate are (i) minimum average daily balance that corresponds to the desired rate, (ii) 16 combined debit/credit card purchase transactions that post and clear in the statement months as (i), on the same membership account, (iii) a minimum of one (1) direct-deposit or Automatic Clearing House (ACH) of at least $500 per month, (iv) enrollment in online statements. ATM and cash advance transactions do not count toward the debit card transaction requirement. Requirements are waived the first statement cycle the new share is opened and will earn the dividend rate that corresponds to each minimum balance tier. IRA, Roth IRA, and Business accounts are not eligible for this product. Rates subject to change without notice. See Membership and Account Agreement for Nature of Dividends under our resource tab.

 *** Qualified members are automatically enrolled in Opt-IN for ACH and draft checks but are not automatically enrolled for onetime and recurring debit card transactions. Accounts must be brought positive within 30 days of going negative.” Courtesy Pay Opt-in

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