Royal Business Bank review: Asian American-led bank with solid interest rates on CDs

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Overall bank rating

Pros and cons

Savings

The Royal Business Bank Savings Account is a decent choice if you can maintain at least $300 in your account daily, so you won't have to pay a $3 monthly service fee. 

However, online banks are better options if you'd like to earn a competitive interest rate. Our best high-yield savings accounts guide highlights savings accounts with minimal bank fees. 

Checking

Royal Business Bank Regular Checking has the lowest minimum opening deposit out of all the bank's checking accounts. You'll need to keep at least $800 in your account daily to waive the $10 monthly service, though, which is pretty steep for a basic checking account.

Another downside to the account is Royal Business Bank doesn't have an ATM network. You'll only receive four reimbursements on out-of-network ATM fees each month.

CD

Royal Business Bank pays good interest rates on short-term CDs compared to other brick-and-mortar banks. You'll need at least $2,500 for CD, though. Most banks require a minimum of $1,000 or less.

Money market account

You might find the Royal Business Bank Money Market Account appealing if you can maintain at least $2,500 in your account daily to waive the $10 monthly fee. Otherwise, consider going through our best money market accounts guide for fee-free options. 

How Royal Business Bank works

Royal Business Bank is an Asian American-led financial institution with more than 20 branches in major cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, and Honolulu. There's also a branch in Edison, New Jersey.

Royal Business Bank doesn't have an ATM network. You won't be charged out-of-network ATM fees, and you'll get four free reimbursements on fees charged by ATM providers each month. 

Call customer support from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays in your respective time zone.

The bank's mobile app is rated 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Apple store and 3 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store. 

Royal Business Bank is FDIC insured. Up to $250,000 is secure in an individual bank account.

The role of community development financial institutions

Community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, serve low-income and disadvantaged communities. Banks and credit unions have to undergo certification by the US Department of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and meet specific requirements to address banking barriers. 

Royal Business Bank provides services in Chinese and English. The bank also offers college scholarships to high school students in local communities and hosts workshops for financial literacy education and small businesses.

Is Royal Business Bank trustworthy?

The Better Business Bureau rates banks according to how they respond to customer issues.

Royal Business Bank has an A+ rating from the BBB. A good BBB rating does not guarantee your relationship with a bank will be perfect, though. Talk to current customers or read online customer reviews to see if Royal Business Bank is a good fit. 

Royal Business Bank hasn't been involved in any recent public scandals. 

How Royal Business Bank compares 

We compared Royal Business Bank to Cheese and OneUnited Bank.

Cheese is an online-only platform that supports Asian American communities and makes it easy for immigrants to open an account if they don't have a social security number. OneUnited Bank is a Black-owned bank that's also certified as a CDFI. 

If you want to open a strong checking account, it'll likely be a toss-up between Cheese or OneUnited Bank. 

Cheese has a fee-free checking account with early direct deposit, so you won't have to worry about maintaining your account balance or meeting certain requirements. However, the one downside to the account is it doesn't have overdraft protection. If you attempt to overdraw from your account, Cheese will just deny your transaction.

Meanwhile, OneUnited Bank has overdraft protection and early direct deposit. However, you might have to deal with monthly service fees if you don't meet certain requirements.

If you're looking for a bank with competitive interest rates, Cheese pays the highest rates out of all three banks.

The Cheese Account earns Cheese Account on balances up to $10,000 for 30 days if you refer a friend. Even if you don't meet this requirement, you'll still earn Cheese Account, which is higher than what most brick-and-mortar banks pay. 

Royal Business Bank might be worth exploring if you'd prefer to keep your money in a CD. Cheese doesn't have any savings accounts, and OneUnited Bank has lower CD rates.

Frequently asked questions

Is Royal Business Bank FDIC insured? 

Royal Business Bank is FDIC insured. You can keep up to $250,000 in an individual bank account or $500,000 in a joint bank account, and it will be secure.

Where is Royal Business Bank located? 

Royal Business Bank has 20 branches in several major cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, and Honolulu. There's also a branch in Edison, New Jersey.