High-Yield Savings Account

Anyone who is a Royal Member and a primary owner (tax reported owner) of a Royal primary base savings account, also called a Membership savings, can open a high-yield savings account. If someone wants to open a high-yield savings account but is not yet a Royal Member, they’ll first need to qualify for Membership and open a primary base savings account. Once Membership with Royal Credit Union is established, they can open a high-yield savings account online, by phone, or at a Royal office.

To earn the qualified rate, Royal's high-yield savings account requires Members to be the primary owner of a checking account that receives at least $500 in direct deposits every 60 days. The checking accounts that meet the checking account requirement are Smart Start Checking, Smart Checking, Smart Checking Plus, Duo Checking, and Volunteer Checking. The checking accounts that do not meet the checking account requirement are HSA checking, money markets, and business checking. 

Electronically deposited payroll, pension, Social Security, unemployment, or other government benefit deposits that can be identified as recurring direct deposit count as a direct deposit to earn the qualified rate on Royal's high-yield savings account.

Internal transfers, Member-to-Member transfers, external bank transfers, wires, mobile check deposits, ATM deposits, cash deposits, P2P payments, tax refunds, microdeposits, reversals, interest, and promotional bonuses do not count as a qualified direct deposit for the purpose of earning qualified rates on Royal’s High Yield Savings account.

To set up direct deposit at Royal Credit Union, you will need Royal's routing number, 291880411, and your account number, which appears in online banking and on your statement. Give both to your employer or benefits provider, or use Royal's direct deposit authorization form. Direct deposit is free on Royal checking and savings accounts.

If you would like to set up direct deposit for Social Security benefits, see your options here.

If you don't meet Royal's high-yield savings account requirements, like not receiving at least $500 in direct deposits every 60 days, your high-yield savings account will earn the non-qualified rate for that cycle with no fee or account closure. You can requalify in a later cycle by meeting the requirements again.

Unlike a certificate, your money is not locked in for a set term with Royal’s high-yield savings account. You can access your funds when you need them without paying an early withdrawal penalty. A certificate may be a better fit if you have a specific timeline in mind and want a guaranteed, fixed rate. A high-yield savings account may be a better fit if you want a competitive rate with more flexibility.

Royal's Save & Spend Duo is a bundled checking and savings account with a blended rate, which means the first $10,000 earns one rate and any amount above that earns a different rate. The Save & Spend Duo also includes Debit Roundup, a feature that automatically rounds up purchases to the nearest whole dollar and deposits that extra amount into the Duo Savings account. Royal's high-yield savings account is not linked to a checking account or debit card and is not a blended-rate product, which means your entire balance earns the rate associated with your balance tier. It's designed for Members looking to earn a competitive rate on larger balances.

Royal’s high-yield savings account is designed for balances up to $250,000. If your balance exceeds that amount, the rate applied to your entire account balance will adjust to the $250,000.01+ tier rate. The higher tier rate does not continue to apply to the first $250,000. If you're looking for options to maximize returns on larger balances, our team would be happy to discuss our options.

No. There is no minimum balance required to open a high-yield savings account.

High-yield savings account rates are variable and subject to change at any time without notice. Because your rate is based on your daily balance tier, the rate applied to your account could also change as your balance fluctuates between tiers.

Yes. Funds held at Royal Credit Union are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to $250,000. If you have more than $250,000 at Royal, there may be different ways to structure your accounts to ensure that all your funds are insured. You can use the NCUA insurance estimator to check your coverage.

No, only one high-yield savings account per Member is allowed.