Rio Bank review: Hispanic American bank that makes it easy to waive monthly service fees

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Overall bank rating

Feature	Insider rating (out of 5)
Savings	4
Checking	4
CD	3.75
Money market account	3.75
Trustworthiness	5
Total	4.10

Pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Most board members are Hispanic American, and Rio Bank serves a minority community Competitive CD rates Easy to waive monthly service fees	Only available in Texas Low savings interest rate Interest only compounds quarterly, not monthly or daily

Savings

Rio Bank Prestige Savings Account

You may like the Rio Bank Prestige Savings Account if you can maintain a $50 balance, because then you’ll waive the $5.76 monthly service fee. You would earn a significantly better interest rate with an online high-yield savings account, though.

Checking

Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account

The Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account makes it easy to waive the monthly service fee – you just have to maintain a $250 balance. At the end of each month, you’ll receive 0.20% of the dollar amount you’ve spent on any debit card transactions that required a PIN or signature.

CD

Rio Bank Certificate of Deposit

Rio Bank pays better rates on CDs than many brick-and-mortar banks, but you still may earn more with an online bank. Rio also has a Triple Option CD that may pay better rates, but the only term option is three years, and you’ll need $10,000 to open an account.

Money market account

Rio Bank Prestige Money Market Account

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’ll need a $2,500 balance to waive the monthly service fee and to earn interest for the month.

How Rio Bank works

Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account is a minority depository institution, because most of its board is Hispanic American and the bank serves a minority community. It has 15 branches in the following cities in Texas:

• Brownsville
• Edcouch
• Edinburg
• Elsa
• Harlingen
• Palmview
• Rio Grande City
• Roma
• San Juan
• McAllen
• Weslaco

You have free access to over 55,000 ATMs around the US in 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 for part of the day on Saturday.

Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000, or up to $500,000 for joint accounts.

Is Rio Bank trustworthy?

Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account does not have any public controversies.

We usually include the Better Business Bureau grade when evaluating a bank’s trustworthiness, but the BBB hasn’t assessed Rio Bank yet. You may want to read online customer reviews or ask friends and family about their experiences with Rio.

How Rio Bank compares to similar institutions

We’ve compared Rio Bank to two other Hispanic American banks in similar parts of Texas: Texas National Bank and Lone Star National Bank.

Texas locations 15 (Brownsville, Edcouch, Edinburg, Elsa, Harlingen, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Juan, McAllen, Weslaco)	Texas locations 7 (Edinburg, Elsa, McAllen, Mercedes, Mission, San Juan, Weslaco)	Texas locations 33 (Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, Hidalgo, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Antonio, South Padre Island, Weslaco)
Rio Bank Bonus Checking Account	Texas National Bank Checking Account	Lone Star National Bank Smart Choice Checking Account

Rio Bank vs. Texas National Bank

Rio Bank has branches in more cities than Texas National Bank, so it may be the more convenient option.

Texas National Bank has a free checking account, and it pays higher rates on longer-term CDs. However, you may earn better rates on shorter-term CDs with Rio. Your choice could very well come down to where you live and which specific accounts you want.

Rio Bank vs. Lone Star National Bank

Lone Star National Bank has more than twice the number of branches than Rio Bank, so there might be a branch closer to your home. Rio Bank makes it easier to waive monthly service fees, though.

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