As some of the more popular banks like ING Direct, HSBC Direct and FNBO Direct lower their interest rates, other less-known banks are appearing in their place with higher rates. Some of these banks do not have reputations yet and haven’t been in the public eye for long. Here are a few that you may want to consider, all FDIC insured.

Venture Bank Direct is the new online-only arm of Venture Bank. The Venture Bank Direct “Wise Choice Savings” account has no minimum balance requirement and is currently offering an interest rate of 3.8% APY. Venture Bank is rated two stars by BankRate.

As with all savings accounts, you are allowed to make six withdrawals from the account in any one month period. However, only the first three withdrawals are free; any additional withdrawals are assessed a $1 fee. You can deposit money up to 3 times in one day via ACH with a maximum total of $50,000. You are limited to no more than 3 ACH withdrawals per day with a maximum total of $10,000.

Venture Bank Direct offers support for downloading your activity into Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Money.

DollarSavingsDirect is a new online offering of Emigrant Bank, similar to Emigrant Direct. Emigrant Bank is also rated two stars by BankRate. DollarSavingsDirect offers the “Dollar Savings Account” with a minimum balance of $1,000. DollarSavingsDirect is a reincarnation of Banco Fortuna, Emigrant Bank’s former Spanish-language branch.

While Emigrant Direct’s rate has fallen, DollarSavingsDirect is offering a 4.0% APY, one of the highest rates currently available. Keep in mind that the FDIC will insure your deposits at Emigrant Direct, DollarSavingsDirect, and Emigrant in aggregate, as these banks share an FDIC certificate. For example, for an individual account you can deposit $200,000 in each of these three “banks,” but only $250,000 of your $600,000 would be insured.

I mentioned ShoreBank earlier this year alongside other high-yield savings accounts. ShoreBank, rated two stars by BankRate, expects a $1 minimum balance with its online savings account. The account earns 3.5% APY and is FDIC insured.

This bank focuses on the community and environment. Deposits placed with ShoreBank help fund environmentally-friendly development as well as projects like mortgage rescue programs. Fast Company profiled ShoreBank earlier this year.

If you have experiences with these lesser-known banks, please share your thoughts.

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