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Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking Review

Review Updated
Brittney Myers
Nathan Alderman
Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures that our product ratings are not influenced by compensation. APY = Annual Percentage Yield.

Carver Federal Savings Bank is a Black-owned financial institution with a community-driven mission. While its footprint is limited -- the bank is headquartered in Harlem and all of its locations are in the New York City area -- it offers a lot of online banking tools. The Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking account has no monthly fee and a low deposit requirement, making it a good starter option. Find all the pros and cons in our full Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking review.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Apr 11, 2025

Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking

Member FDIC.
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
APY
N/A
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • No monthly service charges
  • No minimum balance
  • Low minimum opening deposit
  • Free Visa debit card
  • More than 70,000 free ATMs nationwide
  • Five non-Carver ATM fees waived per statement cycle
  • Small footprint

If you want a checking account with no monthly maintenance fees and no-fee ATM access, Carver Bank can be a good choice. This checking account does not pay interest like some of the best rewards checking accounts, but it offers an impressive national network of ATMs, and even waives fees on non-Carver ATMs (up to five fees per statement cycle). If you live in New York City, Carver Bank might have a branch near you.

Compare savings rates

Make sure you're getting the best account for you by comparing savings rates and promotions. Here are some of our favorite high-yield savings accounts to consider.

Account APY Promotion Next Steps
up to 3.80%²
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. to earn: $0
New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits!¹
4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. 4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APY
Min. to earn: $100 to open account, $5,000+ for max APY
Earn a bonus of at least $225 after a one-time deposit of $25,000+. Circle with letter I in it. Transfer a one-time deposit of $25,000-$49,999.99 for a bonus of $225. Transfer a one-time deposit of $50,000+ for a bonus of $300. Account must be opened with code PS2025 while this promotion lasts, and funded within 30 days. Bonus will be fulfilled within 60 days from the funding date. There is no period of time where the customer will be required to maintain the funds. Account must be open when bonus is credited. One bonus per account and primary customer. Bonus will be credited into the Platinum Savings Account that fulfills the funding requirement. Funding can be deposited all at once or incrementally.
3.70%
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. 3.70% annual percentage yield as of April 11, 2025. Terms apply.
Min. to earn: $0
N/A
Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings

On American Express's Secure Website.

Disclaimers



SoFi disclosure:

¹ New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) OR $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/26. See full bonus and annual percentage yield (APY) terms at sofi.com/banking#1.

² SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus with Direct Deposit or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days or with $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either SoFi Plus or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.00% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi Plus members are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 1/24/25. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. See the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus.

³ We do not charge any account, service or maintenance fees for SoFi Checking and Savings. We do charge a transaction fee to process each outgoing wire transfer. SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming wire transfers, however the sending bank may charge a fee. Our fee policy is subject to change at any time. See the SoFi Checking & Savings Fee Sheet for details at sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/.

⁴ SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations.

Any additional FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $3M through participation in the program. See full terms at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms. See list of participating banks at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks.

We’ve partnered with Allpoint to provide you with ATM access at any of the 55,000+ ATMs within the Allpoint network. You will not be charged a fee when using an in-network ATM, however, third-party fees incurred when using out-of-network ATMs are not subject to reimbursement. SoFi’s ATM policies are subject to change at our discretion at any time.

Early access to direct deposit funds is based on the timing in which we receive notice of impending payment from the Federal Reserve, which is typically up to two days before the scheduled payment date, but may vary.

Overdraft Coverage is limited to $50 on debit card purchases only and is an account benefit available to customers with direct deposits of $1,000 or more during the current 30-day Evaluation Period as determined by SoFi Bank, N.A. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the“30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Members with a prior history of non-repayment of negative balances are ineligible for Overdraft Coverage.

Full Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking review

Top perks

No-fee checking: You won't have to worry about any annoying checking account fees with this account. There's no monthly account fee, and you get fee-free access to around 80,000 ATMs. Just make sure you set your account for eStatements -- paper statements cost $3 a pop.

Low deposit requirement: You don't need hundreds of dollars just to open the account thanks to the low opening deposit requirement. Even better, once your account is open, you don't need to meet a minimum balance to keep it open or avoid fees.

Free Visa debit card: This account comes with a free Visa debit card, which you can use to make purchases or to make withdrawals at eligible ATMs. You can use any in-network ATM for free, plus you'll get up to five non-Carver ATM withdrawal fees waived per statement cycle.

Community reinvestment: Carver Bank qualifies as a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), which is a U.S. Treasury Department designation for institutions that do work in underserved communities. Additionally, the bank says around $0.80 per dollar gets reinvested back into its local communities. Carver Bank has also paired with a minority-owned fintech company to help support more than 16,000 small business loans nationwide.

What could be improved

No new account bonus: Some banks offer big cash welcome bonuses when you open a new account. Unfortunately, Carver Bank doesn't have any kind of bonus deal for the Community Free Checking account.

No interest earned on deposits: This isn't one of the best free checking accounts for earning interest. In fact, it's not even in the running, since you won't earn any interest on your Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking balance. In other words, this isn't a good place to put your savings. (Find a high-yield savings account for that!)

Few physical bank branches: Carver Bank is a small bank with very limited brick-and-mortar locations. And by that we mean the bank is headquartered in Harlem, and all seven locations -- yes, you read that right: 7 -- are located in New York City. While you don't need to live in the service area to open an account online, this does limit your in-person banking options unless you live in New York City.

Fees

Full Carver Bank Community Free Checking Monthly Maintenance ATM Withdrawal Overdraft Stop Payment Insufficient Funds
Fees $0 $0 (for in-network ATMs or with up to five reimbursements per statement cycle) N/A $30 $35 per item
Data source: Carver Bank

How to access your money

Your options for accessing your money will depend a lot on whether you live in New York City or not.

Deposit options

You can deposit money into your Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking using these methods:

  • Online transfer from another Carver Bank account
  • ACH transfer from an external bank account
  • Wire transfer from an external account (big fees apply)
  • Mobile check deposits through the Carver Bank mobile app
  • Deposit cash or a check at a bank branch

Given the limited number of locations, that last option will only be available for account holders in the New York City area.

Withdrawal options

Your methods for withdrawing funds include:

  • Online transfer to another Carver Bank account
  • ACH transfer to an external bank account
  • Wire transfer to an external account (big fees apply)
  • Write a paper check
  • Use your debit card at an ATM (fees may apply)
  • Use your debit card to get cash back from an eligible retailer
  • Transfer peer-to-peer via Zelle

You can also use your debit card to make purchases, or link your checking account to your mobile wallets, like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, to make purchases via your mobile devices.

Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking is right for you if:

The Carver Federal Savings Bank Community Free Checking is a basic fee-free checking account. What makes it stand out is the bank itself, which promotes its strong community drive. It may be the best fit for folks who live in the New York City area and who want to bank with an institution focused on the local community.

Our checking account methodology

At Motley Fool Money, we rate checking accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all checking accounts across four main criteria: brand and reputation, APY and rewards, fees and minimum requirements, and perks.

Our scores are weighted as:

  • Brand and reputation: 40%
  • APY and rewards: 30%
  • Fees and minimums: 15%
  • Other perks: 15%

Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates bank accounts.

FAQs

  • Yes, you can use Zelle with your Carver Bank checking account.

  • There are no monthly or account opening fees for a Carver Bank Community Free Checking account. You may be charged a $3 fee if you want paper statements, but you can avoid this by signing up for eStatements.