Broadway Federal Bank review: Black-owned bank in Los Angeles that pays high interest rates

• Broadway Federal Bank (Member FDIC) is a Black-owned bank in Los Angeles.
• It pays higher rates than most brick-and-mortar banks, and it’s easy to waive monthly fees.
• The checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs are strong; the money market account is just so-so.
• See Business Insider’s picks for the best high-yield savings accounts »

Should I use Broadway Federal Bank?

The bottom line: Broadway Federal Bank has strong checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs, but the money market account is its weak spot.

Broadway Federal Basic Checking review

Broadway Federal Bank Basic Checking Account

Broadway Federal Basic Checking is a good checking account, as long as you have $50 to open the account. There’s a $2 monthly service fee, but it’s easy to waive it — you just need to enroll in online banking and e-statements.

Broadway Federal also has an interest-bearing checking account, but you’ll need $2,500 to get started.

Broadway Federal Statement Savings review

Broadway Federal Bank Statement Savings Account

Broadway Federal Statement Savings pays a competitive interest rate. You can still earn more with online high-yield savings accounts, but its rate is much better than what most brick-and-mortar banks pay. It’s also easy to waive the $3 monthly service fee.

If you have at least $5,000 to open an account, you may prefer the Broadway Federal Regular Savings Account. It pays an even higher rate, and there’s no monthly maintenance fee.

Broadway Federal CD review

Broadway Federal Bank Certificate of Deposit

You’ll earn a high rate on a 91-day, 6-month, or 12-month CD with Broadway Federal. But you’ll need to look elsewhere for other term lengths. The bank doesn’t post early withdrawal penalties online, and a customer support agent told Insider you’ll need to visit the branch to withdraw funds early and find out what you’ll pay in penalties.

Broadway Federal Money Market Account review

Broadway Federal Bank ONLINE Platinum Money Market Account

The Broadway Federal Money Market Account isn’t as competitive as the bank’s other accounts. The interest rate is relatively low, you’ll need a $5,000 minimum opening deposit, and there’s a $12 monthly service fee. On the plus side, the account comes with a debit card and paper checks, making it easy to tap into your savings. This is especially useful if you have a financial emergency and need to access money quickly.

Broadway Federal Bank features

Broadway Federal Bank is a Black-owned bank with three branches in the Los Angeles area — two in LA and one in Inglewood.

Each branch has an ATM where you can make free withdrawals and deposits. You can also withdraw money for free at 20,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide, but you can’t deposit money there.

The bank’s mobile app only has a few online reviews. If banking with a strong mobile app is important to you, you may want to look elsewhere.

You can call a live customer support agent Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT. Or call Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PT.

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

Is Broadway Federal trustworthy?

The Better Business Bureau gives Broadway Federal an A+ in trustworthiness. A good BBB rating signifies a company responds effectively to customer complaints, has honest advertising practices, and is transparent in how it handles business.

Broadway Federal doesn’t have any recent public scandals. You may decide you’re more comfortable using a Black-owned bank with a clear history than some other banks in Los Angeles. Both Wells Fargo and Bank of America are prevalent in the city, but each faces accusations of racial discrimination.

How Broadway Federal compares to similar banks

We’ve compared Broadway Federal to two other Black-owned banks you can access in the Los Angeles area. OneUnited (Member FDIC) has branches in LA. Citizens Trust Bank (Member FDIC) doesn’t have nearby branches, but you can bank online.

	Broadway Federal Bank	OneUnited Bank	Citizen Trust Bank
Savings APY	0.25% to 0.40% APY	0.10% APY	0.05% APY
Standout feature	High interest rates	Early direct deposit	Variety of checking accounts
Next steps	Open an account	Open an account	Open an account

Broadway Federal Bank review vs. OneUnited Bank review

You’ll probably prefer Broadway Federal if interest rates are important to you. Broadway Federal pays higher rates than OneUnited. It also compounds interest daily, whereas OneUnited only compounds interest monthly or annually, depending on the account. The more often interest compounds, the more you’ll earn.

But OneUnited lets you receive paychecks up to two days early, which could useful if you often find yourself worrying about making payments on time.

Broadway Federal Bank review vs. Citizens Trust Bank review

Citizens Trust has branches in other parts of the US, but not in Los Angeles. You may like Citizens Trust if you prefer online banking, but you’ll want to go with Broadway Federal if you like banking in person.

Broadway Federal pays higher rates. But Citizens Trust has multiple checking accounts to choose from, so you may find one that best suits your needs.

Laura Grace Tarpley is the associate editor of banking and mortgages at Personal Finance Insider, covering mortgages, refinancing, bank accounts, and bank reviews. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). Over her four years of covering personal finance, she has written extensively about ways to save, invest, and navigate loans.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.

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