You work hard for your money. Make sure your high-level accounts are covered with CDARS® or ICS.
Making sure your money is safe is your primary concern – and it’s our mission. If you are a super saver, some of your deposits might exceed the specified limits on your account – and therefore won’t be protected in the unlikely event of a bank failure.
At Sunrise Banks, we are part of a network of FDIC Off Site Link (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)-insured banks that work together to provide protection on accounts with higher balances. So, while our industry may already be rich with acronyms, we’d like to introduce you to two more.
Ensure your investments are FDIC-insured with CDARS® and ICS. Sunrise Banks offers these services to offer you peace of mind and to keep your money safe. In the following article, we’ll cover how each service works and how one or both may be useful to you.
What Is CDARS® in Banking?
Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS®) provides peace of mind with multi-million-dollar FDIC insurance on certificate of deposit (CD) investments. This service allows you to spread out your investments over multiple CD accounts at different banks. One of the best parts of CDARS®? This service helps keep your finances simple as the separate accounts are managed under one umbrella with Sunrise.
When you secure this protection on your high-level investments, you will be working directly with only the familiar folks at Sunrise Banks.
What is the difference between CD and CDARS? A CD, or certificate of deposit, is a way to save money (while not being a real savings account) by having a lump sum gain interest without the option to withdraw for a fixed period of time.
A CDARS® functions as a CD investment, taking a large lump sum and dispersing it across different banks that participate in the service as a way to fully insure your savings. Essentially, it will protect high-level accounts from losing funds that are over the FDIC-insured limit.
It can be complicated and time consuming to go bank-to-bank seeking out the maximum protection you may require for your finances. Instead, CDARS® allows us to do the legwork for you and avoid the hassle of opening different accounts with different financial institutions or manually tallying disbursements for each CD.
Additionally, with CDARS®, you can earn CD-level returns that have historically compared favorably with other investment alternatives, including U.S. Treasuries and money market funds. However, you won’t need to worry about negotiating multiple rates. You will earn one fixed interest rate per maturity on your CD investments and get one statement at the end of each period. CDARS® offers the protection of CDs with multiple financial institutions while keeping your finances simple
At Sunrise Banks, we always strive to eliminate unnecessary fees and costs. CDARS® is no exception. You won’t pay hidden fees of any kind on your high-level investments. That includes annual, subscription, and transaction fees for using the service. As we like to say, the rate you see is the rate you get.
What are the downsides of CDARS®?
The funds in a CDARS® aren’t liquid, just like with a typical CD. Money in a certificate of deposit will be unavailable without a fine for the term of the certificate of deposit. If savers would like to keep their money available on short notice, an ICS® may be a better option.
What Is an ICS® Account at a Bank?
How does an ICS® account work? Similar to CDARS®, ICS® offers the ultimate protection for your high-level investments as you can access millions of dollars in FDIC insurance. Instead of managing multiple bank relationships, you can accomplish this goal through your already-established relationship with Sunrise Banks.
The main difference between ICS® vs CDARS®? ICS® allows you the flexibility of liquidity, as it is not an account based on CDs. Under CDARS®, your money is invested in CDs which harbor the funds until the end of a set term. ICS®, however, allows you to move your money in and out as dictated by your needs and desires.
Funds placed using ICS® are not subject to floating net asset values, liquidity fees, or money market mutual fund liquidity gates, so you can rest assured knowing that market volatility will not negatively affect account value.
When you take advantage of ICS® – the nation’s most widely used FDIC-insured deposit product – you can stay confidently in control of your investments with detailed statements and around-the-clock online access to your account information.
Do Well by Doing Good
With both of these services through Sunrise Banks, you can feel good knowing that your funds make a difference. A large deposit with us means that those funds may be supporting the local economy and lending initiatives in the community.
For example, you may be helping small businesses support job or inventory growth, nonprofits further their missions, and individuals finance higher education. We have a triple bottom line at Sunrise Banks – people, planet, and prosperity. We are proud to partner with you in this significant community investment.
A Final Word
At Sunrise Banks, your peace of mind is our priority. We believe that at the core of any successful relationship is trust, transparency, and a willingness to customize services for each customer.
The bottom line? No one has ever lost a penny of an FDIC-insured deposit. Contact your account manager or customer service representative to set up a meeting to learn more about protecting your high-end investments with Sunrise Banks.