BBVA offers services that are a combination of traditional banking options and modern solutions. These services come with attractive features such as free maintenance charges and discounted rates on account opening and minimum balances.
Our BBVA bank review details all the accounts and services you can find available to anyone in the United States.
History of BBVA Bank
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) was founded as the Central Bank and Trust Company in 1964 with a $1 million capital. It made a hostile takeover bid for Decatur’s State National Bank, the only bank that could open branches across county lines.
In September 2007, the bank was acquired by the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, the second-largest bank in Spain, and renamed BBVA Bank. BBVA acquired the deposits and core assets of Guaranty Bank of Austin, Texas in 2009, after the company suffered a bank failure.
This move enabled BBVA to create a presence in California and Texas. The company also launched the BBVA ClearPoints Card, a mobile associated rewards card that allows for in-person, real-time redemption of reward points.
Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with over 11,647 employees, BBVA has total assets worth $87 billion in 2017.
Types of Accounts
BBVA has a wide variety of accounts to help their broad customer base.
Checking
BBVA Free Checking
The account requires a minimum balance of $25 to open. There are no monthly service charges, and users can get access to no ATM fees at 64,000 Allpoint and BBVA ATMs worldwide. You are also entitled to complimentary use of online and mobile banking. Each account user receives one free debit card.
Open a Free Checking account>>
Interest Checking
This option allows you to earn a tiered interest rate on your money, requires a minimum of $25 to open, and includes complimentary access to online and mobile banking.
Furthermore, you can earn cashback rewards for everyday debit card purchases. There is no ATM withdrawal fee at 55,000 BBVA and Allpoint ATMs throughout the world.
This service includes a monthly charge of $25, which can be avoided by having an opening balance of $5,000 daily or a combined amount of $25,000 from all your BBVA Interest Checking accounts.
Open an Interest Checking account>>
Easy Checking
You can easily open this account with a minimum balance of $25, but it has a monthly charge of $13.95. You will be entitled to online and mobile banking with one free Visa debit card.
A paper statement costs $3, but opting for an online statement reduces this fee to zero. You can also earn cashback reward points for daily debit card purchases.
The Easy Checking account is really for anyone who doesn’t qualify for one of the above.
Deposit Accounts
BBVA Savings Account
A savings account will help you earn a fair amount of interest on your entire savings account balance. They require a minimum of $25 to open.
You can access your money at any of BBVA ATMs without having to pay any ATM fees, and have the option to link your checking for overdraft protection.
BBVA Money Market Account
This option helps you maximize your interest while having immediate access to your money. The account requires $25 to open and includes up to 6 free withdrawals per month. You enjoy 24/7 access to mobile and online banking and no ATM fees.
Open a money market account with BBVA>>
BBVA Online Savings Account
As with the other accounts, this account requires a $25 balance to open. You get easy access to funds in your account and earn interest on the deposited sum. You will receive a quarterly service charge of $15 with a $3 fee on paper statements per cycle.
Certificates of Deposit
If you are looking to earn a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, you will want to invest in CDs. BBVA offers CD options starting from a minimum duration of 12 months and going up to 36 months.
Rates of interest applicable to these plans vary according to the time frame. You will need to invest a minimum amount of $500 in opening a CD. Interest rates are different for different regions, and branch rates differ from that of online.
Personal Loans
BBVA offers various options for personal loans to help you meet your needs without any financial worry. Some loan offers are:
- Express Personal Loans – You can avail online unsecured loans in the range of $2,000 to $35,000, whereas the loan limit can be extended to $100,000 if opened in a branch. These loans do not require any collateral.
- Auto Loans – Given for buying new and used vehicles. It requires a minimum loan amount of $5,000, and reach up to $15,000. A fixed rate of interest is charged throughout the loan duration, and there are no documentation fees.
- Home Equity Line of Credit – You can use your home equity line of credit for home improvements, debt consolidation, and other expenses. You can draw the loan up to 10 years.
- Home Equity Loans – These loans start from $10,000 with competitive interest rates. It has fixed monthly payments, and this plan helps you save more when compared to credit cards and unsecured loans.
- Mortgage Loans – There are many mortgage plans available with BBVA. Interest rates vary with the loan amount.
Small Business Banking Services
Business requirements must be flexible to the size of the business.
BBVA has created business-specific plans for checking, savings, lending, and merchant services with an additional advantage of specialty programs catered to your business.
Commercial Banking
Whether you are running a business or planning to start one, you will require commercial financing solutions to keep your business flourishing.
Financing and Working Capital
Financing and working capital are commercial lending solutions, including real estate financing, term loans, and credit and international lending. BBVA is competent to offer customized solutions, depending on the nature of the business.
It also provides specific solutions like asset-based lending, commercial billing services, equipment financing, financial sponsor coverage, and international business expansion.
Liquidity Management
Utilize your cash reserves by putting idle money to work and streamlining your daily cash flow. BBVA provides services to help manage your liquidity woes. They include:
- automated investment sweep
- commercial banking deposit accounts
- savings accounts
- money market accounts
Treasury Management
These services provide a great solution to optimize your working capital. The benefits include payable and receivable solutions, information, risk management, and global cash solutions.
Using these services may help you streamline payable processing, assessing financial data quickly to aid in making business decisions, and implement security strategies.
Alternatives
BBVA Compass offers modern financial solutions such as online and mobile banking but they are hardly the only bank to do this. Some good alternatives include:
- CITBank – One of the most consistent banks for reasonable interest rates.
- Capital One 360 – One of the more well-known banks for online banking.
- Synchrony Bank – A strictly online bank with very competitive rates on all deposit accounts.
Pros
- The bank provides a lot of options in savings and checking accounts in addition to modern financing solutions.
- Minimum deposits to open an account are as low as $25.
- Most financial offerings have no monthly service charges.
- The certificates of deposit come with many options.
- No mortgage is required to obtain a personal unsecured loan.
- There are many customizable offerings for small business owners, and they can avail special interest rates and charges on their business accounts.
- Commercial banking solutions are tailor-made with experiential planning and cash flow management.
Cons
- Extra charges for receiving paper statements.
- Interest rates vary with different regions.
BBVA Bank Review Final Thoughts
Opting for personal or commercial banking solutions has become a norm today. People tend to go to banks that have been well-established with a good reputation.
It becomes imperative to realize the importance of your financial goals and plan them well to gain a better bet from your stakeholders and your bank!
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