Flushing Bank Complete Savings Review: Tiny APY From a Small Bank

A good savings account should be affordable with a competitive interest rate. The Flushing Bank Complete Savings account is halfway there, since it has no monthly account fees. This small, local bank doesn't have the best rates, however, and its digital presence needs some work. See all the pros and cons of the account in our in-depth Flushing Bank Complete Savings review.

The Flushing Bank Complete Savings account isn't likely to satisfy you if you're hoping to earn serious money on your saved cash -- investigate online bank options for accounts paying rates 100 times higher. At least you can open the account for a fairly small amount of money.

There's a lot to say about this small bank. Let's dive into the details.

Why you might like this account

Truth be told, there's not a whole lot to say about the Flushing Bank Complete Savings account. It doesn't have a welcome bonus, doesn't earn a high APY, and doesn't reimburse you for non-Flushing Bank ATM surcharges. The account is so basic, in fact, even plain vanilla is like, "Come on, pal, step it up."

What it does offer is security and simplicity. The bar to opening an account is super low:

You can get in with $100. You don't have to worry about maintaining minimum balances, as there's no monthly maintenance fee, and you can access your funds quickly at Flushing Bank or Allpoint ATMs.

All in all, as an account holder, you won't grow your money, and you'll definitely miss out on higher interest rates elsewhere. But you could keep your money close by, or at least as close as a Flushing Bank ATM.

Why you might be disappointed

A cringe-worthy APY: Inflation will be far ahead of your savings

The Flushing Bank Complete Savings account is not high yield and will grow your money at a ridiculously low rate of 0.05%. Not only is that 100 times smaller than the APYs on today's best high-yield savings account, but it's also about 40 times smaller than the average inflation rate over the last 10 years (roughly 2%). If you can believe that, just imagine how much purchasing power you're losing when inflation is higher than 2%.

Truth be told, there's no good reason why you should settle for such a low rate. True, it comes with some conveniences (no account fees, for instance). But many of the same conveniences can be found on accounts that earn between 60 and 100 times more than this one.

To give you some perspective, earning 0.05% on $10,000 saved would leave you with $5 after 12 months. But if you were to save $10,000 in an account with a 5.0% APY (which isn't rare these days), you would earn $500 after one year -- $495 more than the Flushing Bank Complete Savings account. Flushing Bank may be your neighborhood favorite, but brand loyalty is simply not worth sacrificing the greater earnings you can get at other banks.

Small regional footprint: Only a few branches in New York City

Flushing Bank is a brick-and-mortar institution, but it only has 26 branches. Specifically, you'll find these clustered in New York City across Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island. While you can open a bank account online, you'll only be eligible to do so if you actually live within the service area.

Mobile app may leave you frustrated

Flushing Bank has a mobile banking app for Android and iOS. But the app's ratings are low and many users complain about it bugging out, shutting down, or failing to let users sign on. Between Google Play and Apple Store, it has a rating of about 3.25 stars -- not terrible, but also just barely passing.

Your options for accessing your money depend on what other accounts you have with Flushing Bank.

Deposit options

You have a variety of options to deposit money into your Flushing Bank Complete Savings account:

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

You can check the bank's fee schedule to see what methods will require extra fees.

Withdrawal options

You have similar options for withdrawing funds as you do depositing them:

• Online transfer to another Flushing Bank account
• ACH transfer to an external bank account
• Wire transfer to an external account (fees apply)
• Withdraw in person at a bank branch
• Withdraw from an ATM
• Send money via Zelle

Keep in mind that your transfers may be limited by Regulation D-era rules still in place at the bank.

If you already have a checking account with Flushing Bank and really need somewhere to stash a little short-term savings, this account could work. However, if you have a significant amount of savings -- or even if you don't -- consider a high-yield savings account instead. You can get a significantly higher APY (and, arguably, a better mobile banking experience, to boot).

Keep reading about Flushing Bank

• Flushing Bank Review
• Flushing Bank CD Rates
• Flushing Bank Complete Checking Review

Our savings account methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate savings accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all savings accounts across four main criteria: annual percentage yield (APY), brand and reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and perks that really make a difference -- think ATM access, linked checking accounts, or even branch access.

Our scores are weighted as:

• APY: 50%
• Brand and reputation: 20%
• Fees and minimums: 15%
• Other perks: 15%

Learn more about how The Motley Fool Ascent rates bank accounts.