Information Applicable to both the American Dream Savings Account and the My Way CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT ACCOUNT (Collectively, the "Account")
Applying for Or opening a new account
To help the government fight funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an Account. What this means for you: When you apply for an Account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. In order to establish a American Dream Savings Account, you must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen or a Resident Alien with a valid social security number and have a residential address in the United States. EmigrantDirect is a division of Emigrant Bank (the “Bank”).
In this Disclosure, "you" or "your" refers to the person(s) subscribing to or using EmigrantDirect, "we", "us" or "our" refers to EmigrantDirect and any agent, independent contractor, designee, or assignee EmigrantDirect may, in its sole discretion, involve in the provision of EmigrantDirect.
Fees
There are no minimum balance fees associated with the Account, although depending on the type of account, certain penalties for premature withdrawal may be applicable.
Costs Associated with Ancillary Services
The following costs incurred for ancillary services apply and will be debited directly from your account:
Balance Confirmation Letter/Verification of Deposit.........................................$ 30.00
Additional Copies.......................................... ....................................................$ 5.00
Legal Fee (for processing Subpoenas, Levies, etc.)......................................$ 100.00
Abandoned Property
The Account will be considered inactive if for a number of years, in accordance with Applicable State Laws and/or Regulations, any of the following occurs, including, but not limited to:
Unless prohibited by the applicable state law, we may charge to the account our costs and expenses of any notice, advertisement, payment and delivery of the account to the applicable state agency.
An Account determined to be inactive may be reinstated by the Bank, provided that the funds have not been escheated in accordance with Applicable Laws and Regulations.
Joint Accounts at EmigrantDirect
The following information is being furnished to you to inform you of some of the important rules governing Joint Deposit Accounts. The rules described below apply to a Joint Account opened at any bank in New York State, including a Joint Account opened with EmigrantDirect, except in those cases in which the Account contract specifies otherwise.
A Joint Account is an Account opened in the name of two persons, in form payable to either or the survivor of them. Deposits, and any additions or accruals to the Account, become the property of each person named on the Account, as joint tenants. The making of a deposit in such form creates a legal presumption that the depositors intended to create a joint tenancy and that ownership of the funds will pass to the survivor. The legal consequences of depositing funds in a Joint Account include the following:
Beneficiary Accounts at EmigrantDirect
By establishing this account or later amending this account title to include a beneficiary, you agree to the following:
Refusal to Permit Withdrawal
The Bank may refuse to permit withdrawals in cases such as, but not limited to, the following:
Account Closure
EmigrantDirect is authorized in its sole discretion to close your account with or without cause.
General Information
By opening this Account with EmigrantDirect in Ossining, New York, the customer(s) agree to be subject to the terms of the Agreement and all other applicable terms and rules and regulations of the Bank, of the New York State Banking Board, the New York State Superintendent of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and amendments thereto.
The Account relationship established herein shall be governed by the Law of the State of New York without regard to the conflicts of law provisions thereof. In establishing an Account herein, the depositor agrees that the United States courts sitting in the State of New York shall have jurisdiction over it, and that the venue of any such action shall be the Southern district of New York. By opening this Account, the depositor hereby waives any objection to such jurisdiction and venue.
Account Opening
Your American Dream Savings Account ("Account") can be opened by authorizing us to transfer funds electronically which then will be processed through an Automated Clearing House ("ACH") entry from a transaction Account designated by you at an external financial institution (the "External Account") or by completing an online application and sending your personal check by mail. A $1.00 or greater initial deposit is required to establish an Account, however, thereafter no minimum deposit is required to maintain an account. Your Account will then be linked to the External Account that is used to make your initial deposit so you can make future debits and credits to your Account in accordance with the provisions herein. The External Account must be a U.S. transaction account, i.e., a personal checking account at a bank branch in the United States. We may take additional steps to verify ownership of the External Account. Such steps may include, but are not limited to, requesting a voided check, a cancelled check, a copy of a recent account statement, or confirming a trial deposit amount. You authorize us to make two small deposits (less than one dollar) and matching withdrawals from the External Account so that we may verify ownership of the External Account by asking you to confirm these amounts. The amount that you designate as your initial funding will be debited via ACH on the business day following the acceptance of your application. Your opening deposit amount will not be available to you for five (5) business days after you charge the External Account (ten (10) days if funding by check).
Additional External Funding Accounts
At the present time, no sooner than 60 days after the establishment of your EmigrantDirect savings account, a second external account can be added. As with the initial (first) external funding account, the name on the accounts must be the same as your American Dream Savings Account. We can only accept your personal checking accounts as linked accounts. Add the new funding account information in the Funding section under the Accounts section. Once completed, mail the voided check with your EmigrantDirect account number written in the memo portion of the check and a signed Account Verification Authorization Form to EmigrantDirect, Attn: Account Fulfillment, 13 Croton Avenue, Ossining, NY 10562. The Account Verification Authorization Form must accompany the voided check in order for us to process your request. Faxes will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the voided check and verification authorization form and successful confirmation of account ownership, two small deposits will be transmitted to the new linked account. You will need to verify these amounts as you did for your initial funding account in order for the new link to be activated.
Interest and Interest Rate Related Information
Rate Information: The current Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") paid on this Account is available on the EmigrantDirect website (EmigrantDirect.com) and in additional disclosures that you will receive from the Bank from time to time. The Bank, at its sole discretion, may change the APY and interest rate on the Account at any time.
Compounding And Crediting Of Interest: Interest will be compounded on a daily basis and credited to your Account on the last day of the month. The balance on which interest is computed for your Account is determined by the daily balance method, which applies a daily periodic rate to the balance in the Account. If you close your Account before interest is credited, you will not receive the accrued interest.
Deposits and Accrual
Deposits may be made at any time to your American Dream Savings Account by electronic funds transfer from the External Account via an ACH entry by visiting our Web site. We reserve the right to return any deposit to you that causes the combined balance of all your Accounts with us (including any joint Accounts) to exceed $2,000,000. All deposits will be credited to the Account and begin accruing interest on the business day of deposit. The initial ACH deposit made to establish your Account will not be available to you for five (5) business days. ACH deposits other than your initial deposit will not be available to you for five (5) business days. The initial deposit by check made to establish your account will not be available to you for ten (10) business days. Check deposits other than your initial deposit will not be available to you for five (5) business days. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are not considered business days.
Withdrawing Funds and Limitations
You may make a withdrawal from your Account through electronic funds transfer to the External Account by logging on to our Web site. You may not withdraw funds by any other means. Amounts withdrawn from an Account will be deducted from the Account balance and cease accruing interest on the business day of the withdrawal. Saturdays, Sundays, and Legal Holidays are not considered business days. Each outgoing transfer is limited to $500,000 and under, however there is no daily aggregate limit. Under certain limited circumstances, EmigrantDirect, in its sole discretion, may allow non-ACH outgoing domestic wire transfers to the External Account. The term "domestic wire transfer" means a transfer of funds from EmigrantDirect to the External Bank within the United States by means of Federal Reserve FEDWIRE or other means. As a security procedure, before carrying out the wire instructions, the Bank may elicit certain identifying information from the Depositor; that is, ask test questions, which it will compare to its records. By agreeing to this disclosure, you agree that these security measures are commercially reasonable. Based upon your response to the test questions, the Bank may, at its sole discretion, either make the transfer or decline to make the transfer. In either event, the Bank shall not be liable to you for any direct and/or indirect losses, including consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages in any amount, provided it has acted in good faith. In no event shall the Bank be responsible for any loss, claim, liability, damage or other amount arising in any way from any error, failure, or delay, the performance of any of the Bank's obligations or those of the receiving institutions caused by natural disaster, fire, war, strike, civil unrest, error in or inoperability of communication equipment or lines, or any other circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the Bank. You may ask the Bank to amend or cancel any transfer or related instructions, and the Bank will use its best efforts to comply with such request if the request is made at a time and in a manner which gives the Bank a reasonable opportunity to act on the request before it makes the transfer or carries out the instruction as the Depositor originally requested. If the transfer is canceled, the Bank will refund the amount of the wire to the depositor, less any expenses incurred by the cancellation, by making a deposit of the net amount to his or her account. As an inducement to having the Bank undertake the requested wire transfer, you, your heirs, executors, legal representatives and assigns hereby agree to indemnify and hold the Bank harmless against any and all claims that may arise against the Bank by reason of the Bank having undertaken the requested wire transfer. Such outgoing wire transfers are subject to a $30.00 fee.
Statement
Your monthly statements, which include all of your transactions, are displayed in an electronic format. Statements are maintained for 24 months.
Electronic Funds Transfer Information
Types of Transfers: Pre-authorized transfers arranged with EmigrantDirect, i.e., to and from your External Account are the only type of electronic funds transfers that are available to you in connection with your American Dream Savings Account. Please note, it may take between two (2) to four (4) business days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, to complete a transfer between accounts.
By using any available payment or funds transfer service, you warrant that you are an authorized party on the Account from which the funds are being drawn to make such payment or transfer.
Federal regulations require that no more than six (6) transfers per statement cycle may be made to (1) an account at another bank or financial institution, including your External Account, (2) to another EmigrantDirect account or (3) to a third party by means of a preauthorized or automatic electronic transfer. We reserve the right to close your Account for violation of the above restriction.
Pre-Authorized Credits
The EmigrantDirect Routing and Transit number is 226070319. If
you have arranged to have direct deposits made to your Account at
least once every 60 days from the same person or company, you can
call us at
Editing and/or Stopping
Payment on an Scheduled Transfer
You may edit a scheduled transfer by logging into your Account by 5:00 PM EST at least one business day prior to the scheduled date of transfer and editing such transfer using the "Transfer Function".
Similarly, you can stop an automatic withdrawal that you have set up to be deducted from your Account by logging into your Account by 5:00 PM EST at least one business day prior to the scheduled date of transfer and editing such transfer using the "Transfer Function".
In Case of Errors or Questions About Your Electronic Transfers
Telephone us at 800-836-1997,
or write to us at
Error Resolution,
EmigrantDirect,
13 Croton Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
as soon as you can if you think your statement is wrong or
if you need more information about a transfer listed on the
statement. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we
sent the FIRST statement on which the problem or error appeared.
Liability for Failure to Complete Transfers
If we do not complete a transfer to or from your Account on time or in the correct amount according to our Agreement with you, we will be liable for your losses or damages up to the amount of the transfer. However, there are some exceptions. We will NOT be liable: (i) if, through no fault of ours, you do not have enough money in your Account to make the transfer; (ii) if circumstances beyond our control (such as fire or flood) prevent the transfer, despite reasonable precautions that we have taken; or (iii) for any other reason stated elsewhere in this Agreement. If we are ever obligated by law to pay interest on the amount of a transfer, you will be paid interest on a daily basis equal to the current interest rate that is otherwise applicable to the Account from which the funds transfer should have occurred. In the event we are ever liable to you for damages due to a transfer, your damages will be limited to actual damages only. We will not be responsible for incidental or consequential damages, court costs or attorneys' fees.
Account Opening
Your Certificate of Deposit Account (CD Account) can be opened by authorizing us to transfer funds from your existing American Dream Savings Account or your External Account currently linked to your American Dream Savings Account. You may also fund your CD Account by mailing in a check from a personal checking account that is not linked to your American Dream Savings Account. By applying for this CD you authorize EmigrantDirect to transfer the funds from your American Dream Savings Account, External Account or your personal checking account, as applicable, to the My Way CD Account.
Interest and Interest Rate Related Information
The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") in effect on the day you apply for a CD Account is available on the EmigrantDirect website (EmigrantDirect.com). The APY assumes interest will remain on deposit until maturity of the CD Account. A withdrawal of interest prior to maturity will reduce earnings. Please note, that due to market conditions, the APY and interest rate may no longer be in effect by the time the funding for your account is completed.
Minimum Balance Requirements
A $1,000 minimum balance is required to establish a CD Account and to earn the APY disclosed.
Compounding and Crediting of Interest
Interest will be compounded on a daily basis and credited to your CD Account on the last day of the month and at maturity. The balance on which interest is computed for your CD Account is determined by the daily balance method which applies a daily periodic rate to the balance in the account.
Deposits and Interest Accrual
The opening deposit for the CD Account will be made by a transfer from your American Dream Savings Account or your linked external funding account. The opening deposit will be credited and begin accruing interest on the business day of deposit. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are not considered business days.
Transaction Limitations, Early Withdrawal Penalties and Interest Withdrawal
Additional deposits to the CD Account are not permitted during the term of the CD Account. Additional deposits will only be permitted on the maturity date at which time they become part of the principal of the CD Account. Any withdrawals may only be credited to your American Dream Savings Account.
Principal or any part thereof may not be withdrawn from the CD Account prior to maturity without the consent of the Bank. If the Bank consents to a withdrawal of principal prior to the maturity date we will impose an early withdrawal penalty. An early withdrawal penalty will not be imposed if the early withdrawal is made after someone in whose name the account is opened dies or is declared mentally incompetent. The maximum penalty imposed will be:
Note that credited interest can be transferred, without penalty, before maturity to your American Dream Savings Account. For such request please contact our Customer Service Department.
Automatic Renewal Policy
The CD Account will automatically renew at maturity. On the initial maturity date, we will treat the amount then in the CD Account (including interest credited to the account and not withdrawn) as deposited in a CD Account with the same term at the rate we are then offering for that term. On each subsequent maturity date, we will do the same thing with the amount then in the CD Account (including interest credited to the account and not withdrawn). Any new maturity date will be for a term identical with the previous term except as follows:
Grace Period
There will be a 10 calendar day grace period, from the date your CD Account is automatically renewed, in which you can close your CD Account without being assessed a penalty. If you choose to close your CD Account during this period, please contact our Customer Service Department. Note that if you direct us to close your account, no interest will be earned during this grace period.
Notice of Maturity Date
A written notice that your CD Account is maturing will be sent to you no less than 14 days prior to maturity.
Statement
Your monthly statements, which
include all of your transactions, are displayed in an electronic
format. Statements are maintained for 24 months.