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Valley National Bank Review 2020
Published May 2020 by Matthew Goldberg
Why trust us
Overall
3.4
Bankrate Score
Valley National Bank has branches in Alabama, Florida, New Jersey and New York.
What we like
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Valley offers a unique product. It’s All Access Rewards Checking account pays new customers up to $20 per month for a year if they meet the requirements for the offer.
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Low minimum balance to open savings and CD accounts.
What we don't
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Valley has branches in Alabama, Florida, New Jersey and New York. It might not be convenient for you to bank with Valley if you don’t live in those states.
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MMA accounts require at least $25,000 to open.
CD rates
4.3
Bankrate Score
Valley offers term CDs, jumbo CDs and a step-up CD. Terms range from 91 days up to five years.
Valley’s term CDs require a minimum opening deposit of $500.
What we like
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Valley’s term CDs only require a minimum opening deposit of $500.
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Valley has a 91-day CD for those not looking to lock up their money in a CD for long time.
What we don't
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There are more competitive APYs at some online banks.
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Valley doesn’t seem to offer a no-penalty CD.
Savings accounts
4.2
Bankrate Score
Valley’s All Access Savings only requires $100 to open the account. You’ll avoid paying a monthly fee by keeping your average daily collected balance at $300 or more.
Valley’s All Access Savings account doesn’t have its APY on its website. Valley didn’t respond to Bankrate’s email requesting this information.
Valley also has a Holiday Club Savings Account. Open an account with $20 or more and you’ll receive a free gift from the bank.
What we like
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The Valley All Access Savings account only requires $100 to open the account.
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There’s no monthly maintenance fee as long as you always have at least $300 in the account.
What we don't
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It’s not clear on its website what the APY is for the Valley All Access Savings account.
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You need to keep at least an average daily collected balance of $300 per month in the account to avoid a monthly maintenance fee. Some savings accounts don’t have a minimum balance requirement or a monthly fee.
Checking accounts
2.4
Bankrate Score
The Valley Interest Checking Plus account only requires a $100 minimum deposit to open. Keep an average daily balance of $1,000 in this account to avoid the monthly maintenance fee. Those not able to keep that balance should look at other options.
The Valley All Access Rewards Checking account lets you earn up to $240 — $20 per month for a year. It doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement and it only requires $100 to open the account. This offer is only available for new personal checking customers at Valley National Bank.
Those ages 17 to 25 also have an opportunity to earn Valley Rewards, up to $150, when they open a Valley My Choice Checking account. This account also receives a rebate of $20 on ATM fees incurred.
What we like
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You can open a Valley All Access Rewards Checking account with only $100.
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Meet the qualifications, which includes a cumulative qualifying direct deposit of $750 or more per month, and earn $20 per month for a year.
What we don't
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The Valley All Access Rewards Checking account isn’t available for current Valley checking customers.
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You’ll be charged $2 by Valley per ATM transaction outside of its network. The fee goes up to $5 for withdrawals at an international ATM.
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Valley charges $5 to replace your ATM or debit card.
Money market accounts
3.0
Bankrate Score
The Valley Premium Money Market account earns a yield that’s higher than the national average. The account rewards you for having a Select Checking account by giving you a higher APY.
The Valley Premium Money Market requires an opening deposit of at least $25,000. After that, you’ll need to keep at least an average daily collected balance of $10,000 to avoid the monthly fee.
What we like
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The Premium Money Market account earns an APY that’s higher than the national average.
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Select Checking customers receive a rate boost on their Premium Money Market account.
What we don't
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The Premium Money Market requires a minimum opening deposit of at least $25,000.
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You’ll need to keep an average daily balance of at least $10,000 in the Premium Money Market account to avoid the monthly service fee.
Bank experience
Valley’s app scores high on both the Apple App store, at 4.8, and on the Google Play Store with a rating of 4.6.
During Bankrate’s review of Valley, the bank had temporary phone hours of 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m Eastern during the week and phone hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. These are the temporary changes to phone hours due to the coronavirus.
About Valley National Bank
Valley National Bank has locations in Alabama, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Valley National Bank has its headquarters in Passaic, New Jersey, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Valley National Bank has been around since 1927. It has more than 200 locations.
Matthew Goldberg @MATTATBANKRATE
Matthew Goldberg is a consumer banking reporter at Bankrate. Nearly his entire career has either been as a reporter or working in financial services, in banking and insurance. His writing has been featured on MSN, appeared in Sports Illustrated On Campus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Buffalo News and other publications. He has been honored by both the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association and the Illinois Press Association. Matthew is currently on the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) Board of Governors. He has previously served on conference planning committees, the training committee and the finance committee for SABEW, which is the world's largest and oldest organization of business and financial journalists. His reporting career has included working as a staff reporter at two daily newspapers. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Illinois State University and an MBA at William Paterson University.