Overall rating of the bank
Advantages and disadvantages
Savings
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.05% APY
Benefits
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- Easy to waive monthly service fee of $ 5.76
The inconvenients
- $ 5.76 monthly service charge
- Only 3 free withdrawals per month, then a fee of $ 4.76 per withdrawal
- Low APY
- Only interest compounded quarterly
- 15 branches in Texas (Brownsville, Edcouch, Edinburg, Elsa, Harlingen, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Juan, McAllen, Weslaco)
- Majority of board members are Hispanic and Rio Bank serves a minority community
- Forgo the monthly service charge of $ 5.76 by maintaining a balance of $ 50
- Interest compounded quarterly, paid quarterly
- FDIC member
You might like the Rio Bank Prestige Savings Account if you can maintain a balance of $ 50 because then you will forgo the monthly service fee of $ 5.76. However, you would earn a significantly better interest rate with a high yield online savings account.
Verification
Annual percentage return (APY)
Nothing
Benefits
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- Easy to waive monthly service fee of $ 3.76
- Earn a bonus every month
- Link to savings for automatic overdraft protection
The inconvenients
- $ 3.76 monthly service charge
- Overdraft fee of $ 35.99
- $ 5 fee each time you use overdraft protection
- $ 3 off-network ATM fee
- 15 branches in Texas (Brownsville, Edcouch, Edinburg, Elsa, Harlingen, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Juan, McAllen, Weslaco)
- 55,000 free ATMs in the Allpoint network
- Majority of board members are Hispanic and Rio Bank serves a minority community
- Forgo the monthly service charge of $ 3.76 by maintaining a balance of $ 250
- At the end of each statement cycle, you’ll earn 0.20% of the dollar amount you spent on signature-based or PIN-based purchases
- FDIC member
The Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account makes it easy to waive monthly service fees – you just need to maintain a balance of $ 250. At the end of each month, you will receive 0.20% of the dollar amount you spent on all debit card transactions requiring a PIN or signature.
CD
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.32% to 0.62% APY
Benefits
- Competitive APY
- Low early withdrawal penalties
The inconvenients
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 2,500
- Interest is only compounded quarterly
- No term of less than one year
- 15 branches in Texas (Brownsville, Edcouch, Edinburg, Elsa, Harlingen, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Juan, McAllen, Weslaco)
- Majority of board members are Hispanic and Rio Bank serves a minority community
- The durations vary from 1 to 5 years
- Early withdrawal penalties: 30 days of interest
- Interest compounded quarterly
- FDIC member
Rio Bank pays better rates on CDs than many physical banks, but you can still earn more with online banking. Rio also has a Triple Option CD which can pay better rates, but the only option over time is three years, and you will need $ 10,000 to open an account.
Money market account
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.04% to 0.37% APY
Benefits
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- Order paper checks
The inconvenients
- No debit card
- $ 15.76 monthly service charge
- Low APY
- No interest earned when your balance is less than $ 2,500
- Interest only compounded quarterly
- 15 branches in Texas (Brownsville, Edcouch, Edinburg, Elsa, Harlingen, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Juan, McAllen, Weslaco)
- Majority of board members are Hispanic and Rio Bank serves a minority community
- Waive the monthly service charge of $ 15.76 by maintaining a balance of $ 2,500
- Interest compounded quarterly, paid quarterly
- FDIC member
The only real advantage of the Rio Bank Prestige Money Market Account over the regular savings account is that you can order paper checks. You will need a balance of $ 2,500 to waive the monthly service charge and to earn interest for the month.
How Bank Rio works
Rio Bank is a minority depository institution because most of its board is Hispanic and the bank serves a minority community. It has 15 branches in the following cities in Texas:
- Brownsville
- Edcouch
- Edinburgh
- Elsa
- Harlingen
- Palmview
- City of Rio Grande
- Rome
- San Juan
- McAllen
- Weslaco
You have free access to over 55,000 ATMs in the United States on the Allpoint network.
The Rio Bank mobile app has 4.9 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store and 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store.
Customer service hours vary by branch. All branches are open Monday through Friday, and some are open part of the day on Saturdays.
Your deposits are FDIC insured up to $ 250,000, or up to $ 500,000 for joint accounts.
Is Rio Bank Trustworthy?
Rio Bank has no public controversy.
We usually include the Better Business Bureau rating when assessing a bank’s reliability, but the BBB has not yet rated Rio Bank. You might want to read customer reviews online or ask friends and family about their experiences with Rio.
How Rio Bank compares to similar institutions
We compared the Rio Bank to two other Hispanic-American banks located in similar areas of Texas: the Texas National Bank and the Lone Star National Bank.
Rio Bank vs. National Bank of Texas
Rio Bank has branches in more cities than Texas National Bank, so this may be the more convenient option.
Texas National Bank has a free checking account and pays higher rates on longer-term CDs. However, you can get better rates on shorter term CDs with Rio. Your choice could very well depend on where you live and what specific accounts you want.
Rio Bank vs. Lone Star National Bank
Lone Star National Bank has more than twice as many branches as Rio Bank, so there may be a branch closer to you. However, Rio Bank makes it easier to waive monthly service fees.
