Provident Bank Review 2024 | Bankrate (2024)

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At a glance

3.4

Rating: 3.4 stars out of 5

Bankrate Score

CDs

Rating: 2.8 stars out of 5

Checking

Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

MMA

Rating: 2.4 stars out of 5

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Overview

Provident Bank is a reasonable option for savers looking for a brick-and-mortar bank primarily in New Jersey that offers low fees and a wide range of products and services. Customers looking to avoid ATM fees will find a good match here, but yields could be a bit more competitive overall.

Highlights

ATM Fee Refunds
Low Min Deposit

Overall

Provident Bank has a sizable branch presence in New Jersey, a few locations in Pennsylvania and one in New York. It offers numerous checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit options to appeal to a wide base of customers. That said, most of Provident Bank’s deposit accounts offer paltry APYs; you can easily find better rates elsewhere.

Pros

There are no monthly service fees on most accounts, and the requirements to waive monthly fees are attainable on the accounts that do charge a fee.
If you live in northern or central New Jersey, it should be fairly easy to find a branch close to you where you can bank in person.
Customers can qualify for domestic ATM fee/surcharge refunds, although several factors must be met each month.
The Smart Checking account comes with a robust APY for balances under $15,000.

Cons

Yields on many of Provident’s basic accounts are underwhelming.
Most accounts closed within six months of opening will be charged a $15 early closure fee.
Provident Bank still charges a hefty $35 overdraft fee.

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Provident Bank banking products

2.5

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Bankrate Score

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FEATURES

Provident Bank savings overview

Provident Bank offers a few different options for savers. The Statement Savings account requires only $50 to open and to start earning interest. The monthly minimum balance to avoid a $3 service fee is $250. The APY is easy to beat if you shop around.

Choosing the Provident Platinum MoneyManager account provides a slightly higher APY than the standard savings account. But in order to open the account, which costs just $50 to open, you must have a Provident Platinum Checking account. You need a combined daily balance of at least $5,000 across the accounts to earn interest. The account comes with a variety of perks, including no ATM fees or withdrawal penalties.

There’s also a Young Saver account for savers under 18 years of age. You need just $1 to open this account and a $0.01 balance to earn interest. The account comes without monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.

Pros

The minimum opening deposits are quite low, so it’s easy to get started.
The Young Saver account requires just $0.01 to earn interest.
The monthly service fee is relatively low and easily waived.

Cons

Most accounts offer a paltry APY.
You need $5,000 in combined balances to earn interest in the Provident Platinum MoneyManager account, and the yield is only slightly higher.
The Statement Savings account has a $3 monthly fee when the monthly balance falls below $250.

Provident Bank

APY

APY last updated between 9/11 and 9/17.

APY

APY last updated between 9/11 and 9/17.

National average APY

How do we get this data?

Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.

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Provident Bank CD overview

Provident Bank offers nine different terms of CDs ranging from 91 days to five years. Just $500 is needed to open one.

The CDs aren’t tiered, meaning you don’t earn a higher yield for depositing more money, and how high an APY you can get depends on the length of the CD. Most terms offer lackluster APYs, minus a couple of exceptions.

Pros

The minimum deposit to open a CD is quite low.
There’s a large swath of CD terms to pick from.
Some CD terms offer a robust APY.

Cons

Most rates are close to the national average, but higher rates can be found elsewhere.
CDs can only be opened at a branch.

2.4

Rating: 2.4 stars out of 5

Bankrate Score

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Provident Bank money market overview

Provident Bank recently added a money market account to its suite of deposit products. To open an account, you’ll need a minimum deposit of $50, and there’s a $10 monthly fee unless you maintain a balance of $1,000 or more. The account offers check-writing privileges, but you only get three checks per month. Each additional check you write will cost you an extra $10.

The account is tiered, meaning you’ll get higher APYs the more you deposit, but the offered rates are very low. You need to deposit $1,000 or more to get the top APY.

Pros

The minimum deposit to open the money market account is quite low.
The account comes with check-writing privileges.

Cons

The APYs are very low, even though the account is tiered.
There’s a $10 monthly fee, though it can be waived.
You can only write three checks per month before being charged a $10 fee for each additional check.

4.3

Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5

Bankrate Score

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Provident Bank checking overview

Provident Bank offers checking account options that meet different needs. Whether you’re looking for free checking, a high-yield account or even cash back and rewards, you’ll likely find something suitable here.

The Smart Checking account is a rewards-based account that earns an exceptional APY on balances up to $15,000. To earn interest, and get ATM fee refunds, you must meet certain requirements: You must conduct 10 monthly debit purchases, maintain a routine direct deposit, maintain a ProvidentConnect Online Banking relationship and opt for electronic statements.

Many of Provident's checking accounts offer ATM fee refunds if certain conditions are met.

Pros

A wide variety of checking options are offered.
Many of the accounts offer ATM fee refunds if certain conditions are met.
Qualifying for the high APY on the Smart Checking account can help maximize your savings.
The Cash Back Checking account provides a solid reward on qualifying debit purchases and there are no limits on the amount of cash back you can accumulate.

Cons

Outside of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, finding access to in-network ATMs is difficult.
The overdraft fee is expensive at $35 per overdrawn transaction.
You must meet a list of requirements to get cash back.

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Bank fees

Fee	Charged?
Overdraft fee	$35
Non-sufficient funds fee	None
Monthly maintenance fees	$0 - $10
Out-of-network ATM fee	None
Excessive transaction fee	$10 - 15

About Provident Bank

Provident Bank is a Jersey City, New Jersey-based institution that has been around since 1839. It has nearly 100 branches spanning New Jersey, parts of Pennsylvania and a small section of New York.

Customers can access a wide variety of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, CDs, mortgages, credit cards and investments.

Provident Bank’s parent company, Provident Financial Services, is publicly traded. It acquired SB One Bank in 2020 and merged with Lakeland Bancorp in 2022, making it one of the largest banks in New Jersey.

Customer experience

Customer service. Customers can reach customer service representatives by email or over the phone. Telephone hours are somewhat limited: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m ET.

Digital experience. Provident Bank offers many of the most popular digital banking services available these days, including mobile and online banking, Zelle and Apple Pay (only for Provident Debit Mastercard users). The bank’s mobile app has received favorable scores by reviewers in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.

Provident Bank Review 2024 | Bankrate (2024)

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Overall

Pros

Cons

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Provident Bank banking products

Provident Bank savings overview

Pros

Cons

Provident Bank savings rates

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Provident Bank CD overview

Pros

Cons

Provident Bank money market overview

Pros

Cons

Provident Bank checking overview

Pros

Cons

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Bank fees

About Provident Bank

Customer experience

Review methodology