Wise-Choice Savings Account :

Venture Bank Direct has named their savings account the Wise-Choice Savings Account or the Wise-Choice High Yield Savings Accounts.  This account requires no minimum balance and is currently paying a high interest savings rate of 3.30%.  While the venturebankdirect.com savings rate is not as high as the WaMu high interest savings account, hopefully its rates will increase as it becomes more popular.

Venture Bank was established in 1979 in the State of Washington.   The Venture Bank Direct Savings Account is FDIC insured.  I would never put my savings in a savings account that was not FDIC insured.  Why earn the low interest if you are not going to get the insurance protection of FDIC insurance.

The Venture Bank Direct online banking website seems to provide a great user experience.  You can check your account balances 24 hours a day.  Additionally, you can integrate it into your Quicken or MS Money software which is nice.

I am not sure if the Venture Bank Direct Savings Account will ever be the highest interest savings, but I am hopeful.  The more competition that exists in the online banking space the better for consumers.  We will keep you up to date on news regarding Venture Bank Direct.

Venture Bank is based in Washington State. It has been FDIC insured since 1979 (FDIC Certificate # 22868). This can be confirmed at this FDIC page. Note, only the main bank’s URL is listed (venture-bank.com). I’ve contacted Venture Bank by using the contact information at this URL, and I’ve confirmed that venturebankdirect.com is operated by Venture Bank. The bank has $1.2 billion in assets and $917 million in deposits based on 6/30/08 data. The bank has a 2-star rating (below peer group) at Bankrate.com and a 3.5 star rating (good) at BauerFinancial based on 3/31/08 data.