BankPurely Review 2024

BankPurely is a digital banking arm of Flushing Bank. Headquartered in Uniondale, New York, the online bank’s vision is rooted in offering socially conscious banking solutions. According to its website, the bank is geared toward “ethical consumers with greater awareness about environmental issues.”

In support of this mission, the bank plants a tree for every new account opened—in partnership with Plant-It 2020—and donates to the carbon-reducing nonprofit Cool Effect with each new customer who has at least a CheckingPurely and one other account. The amount donated differs based on deposit totals.

BankPurely Checking

BankPurely offers one checking account option: CheckingPurely. This online checking account includes surcharge-free access to more than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs worldwide.

CheckingPurely requires a $100 minimum deposit to open but has no ongoing balance minimums or monthly fees. It does not earn interest.

BankPurely doesn’t offer paper checks, which goes along with its mission to decrease its carbon footprint. However, you can transfer money through your online account or the mobile app. You can also connect your checking account’s debit card to the Zelle app to transfer funds to other people.

CheckingPurely accounts are required to qualify for donations. BankPurely will donate up to five tons, or 500 GBP, to Cool Effect for each new customer who has or opens a CheckingPurely account with a balance of at least $1,000 and opens another BankPurely account. One ton is currently equal to about $127, and donations are dependent on customer balances.

BankPurely Savings

SavingPurely is the online bank’s only savings account. This interest-bearing account earns 1.50% APY on any balance. Notably, it includes a free ATM card for easy cash access, which is a nice feature to see in a savings account, especially from an online-only bank. However, the earning rate is poor compared to what the best high-yield savings accounts offer.

Like its checking account, BankPurely’s savings account requires a $100 minimum deposit to open and has no monthly fees.

BankPurely Money Market Accounts

For higher yields, BankPurely offers two money market savings accounts. Both differ from typical money market accounts (MMAs) and carry competitive rates—for those who qualify to earn them.

PurelyInsuredMoneyMarket

The PurelyInsuredMoneyMarket account is a deposit savings account that earns 5.05% APY on balances over $25,000. It requires a minimum deposit of just $100 to open, but that high balance required to earn the best yield makes this account more prohibitive than most of the best money market accounts. Accounts must be funded with new money, meaning deposits not previously held with BankPurely.

PurelyInsuredMoneyMarket offers up to $2.75 million in FDIC insurance coverage, well beyond the standard limit of $250,000 per depositor. It can provide expanded coverage through the Purely Insured Deposit Program, a cash sweep program that spreads consumer funds across a network of FDIC member banks to maximize insurance eligibility.

Unlike many money market accounts, which limit customers to six transactions per month, this account allows unlimited transfers and withdrawals. It also includes a debit card and ATM access.

PurelyIndexMoneyMarket

PurelyIndexMoneyMarket accounts are also unlike traditional money market savings accounts in one key way. But instead of extended FDIC coverage like BankPurely’s other MMA, this account offers an interest rate that is directly tied to the federal funds rate, the rate set by the Federal Reserve that guides bank-to-bank lending. Currently, the account earns 4.78% APY.

Money market accounts and other interest-bearing deposit accounts are often influenced by changes to the federal funds rate, with variable APYs that tend to increase and decrease as the federal rate fluctuates. However, most accounts are only indirectly linked to the federal funds rate, and banks and credit unions ultimately decide whether they will change the rates on their MMAs. The PurelyIndexMoneyMarket account, however, offers a rate set at 85% of the Bloomberg FDTR, which represents the upper limit of the federal funds target rate range.

Like the PurelyInsuredMoneyMarket account, the PurelyIndexMoneyMarket account requires a minimum deposit of $100 but a minimum balance of $25,000 to earn the stated interest rate. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly. This account has no transaction limits or monthly fees.

BankPurely CDs

BankPurely offers just two PurelyCDs®: a 12-month term and a 36-month term. Despite the limited options, these accounts earn yields that compete with the best CD rates.

BankPurely CD Rates

TERM	APY
12 Months	5.00%
36 Months	4.25%

See MoreSee Less

Both CDs require a minimum deposit of $1,000 to open. These accounts do not have monthly fees but, like most CDs, carry early withdrawal penalties for removing your deposit. If you choose to pull your funds out before maturity, you may be subject to early withdrawal penalties of six- or 12-months’ simple interest on the amount withdrawn.

PurelyCDs automatically renew at maturity, but you can request not to renew the account 30 days before it expires. When a CD reaches maturity, you also have a seven-day grace period during which you can do nothing and let it renew or withdraw your funds without penalty.

As with the other accounts, BankPurely plants a tree for each new CD opened.

BankPurely does not charge monthly fees on its bank accounts, but you may be charged fees for the following account activities:

• International out-of-network ATM fee: $3
• Stop payment fee: $20
• Incoming domestic wire transfer fee: $15
• Printed statement fee: $10

BankPurely does not offer any other financial products or services, such as credit cards, loans or investment accounts.

You can access your BankPurely accounts via online banking and the mobile app and create alerts to monitor your banking activities.

BankPurely’s mobile app is available for iOS and Android. Through the mobile app, customers can:

• Check account balances and transaction history
• Pay bills
• Deposit checks
• Transfer funds
• Send secure messages

You should expect a high-quality mobile app from an entirely digital bank. However, BankPurely’s mobile app does not yet have a customer rating on Google Play and only has one 3-star rating (out of 5) on the App Store.

BankPurely isn’t the flashiest online bank around. While it offers some competitive rates, higher-paying savings and checking accounts are available at other online banks. But if you consider yourself a socially conscious consumer, BankPurely’s emphasis on carbon reduction and eco-friendly practices may appeal to you.

Some of the digital bank’s best rates are reserved for its money market accounts, but these carry high deposit requirements. You can find similar rates at other banks without the steep minimums required by BankPurely. As mentioned, BankPurely offers only two CD terms, but these are worth considering for their relatively low minimums and high APYs.

One of BankPurely’s strengths is that it is a full-service institution. You can open any basic consumer deposit account with this bank, even if some options are lackluster. Similar eco-conscious digital banking platforms such as Aspiration and Limelight have much more limited product suites, with Aspiration only offering a combined checking and savings account and Limelight only carrying CDs.

To create this list, Forbes Advisor analyzed 184 institutions, including traditional banks, online banks and financial technology companies offering banking products. We obtained data for each institution using 23 data points within the categories of fees, product availability, customer experience, digital experience, average minimum opening deposit and balance requirements, in-person access and average APYs. Subcategories include customer support features and availability, such as live chat and 24/7 access, number of branches and ATMs, Google Play and App Store customer ratings and monthly fees.

The following percentages were allocated to each research category:

• Fees: 20%
• Customer experience: 15%
• Product mix: 15%
• Digital experience: 10%
• Minimum deposit requirements: 10%
• Minimum balance requirements: 10%
• In-person access: 10%
• APYs: 10%

Using these weights, each institution was rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the worst score and five being the best. Banks offering a wider variety of products with fewer fees and better in-person and digital access scored the highest.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Banks.