Savings Accounts & Certificates of Deposit

Your Options

Valley First savings products span four categories — Regular Savings, High-Yield Savings, Money Market, and CDs — each designed for a different balance between access and earnings.

Saving money at Valley First is not one-size-fits-all. An emergency fund at Valley First needs to stay liquid. A down payment you will not touch for two years can earn more in a CD. A business cash reserve might work best in a Valley First money market account with limited check-writing. Valley First structures its savings products so you can mix and match rather than settling for a single account that does everything adequately but nothing well.

Valley First reviews deposit account rates monthly and posted publicly. As a member-owned institution, Valley First returns earnings to members in the form of higher deposit rates and lower loan rates — the opposite of how shareholder-owned banks operate.

Savings Product Comparison

Valley First offers four savings account types that let you tune the trade-off between rate, access, and minimum commitment — from a basic passbook saver to a multi-year fixed-term CD.

Rates effective June 2026. APY is variable for savings and money market accounts; fixed for the CD term. Valley First Jumbo CDs ($100,000+) earn an additional 0.10% APY across all terms. Valley First deposits are federally insured by the NCUA up to $250,000 per depositor. Early CD withdrawal penalties equal 90 days of interest for terms under 24 months and 180 days of interest for terms 24 months or longer.

Building a CD Ladder for Steady Returns

A CD ladder spreads your deposit across staggered maturities so you capture higher long-term rates without locking all your money away for years at a time.

Imagine dividing $25,000 into five equal $5,000 Valley First CDs with terms of 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60 months. As each CD matures, you reinvest the principal and earned interest into a new 60-month CD at whatever the prevailing rate happens to be. After five years, every Valley First CD in the ladder earns the long-term rate, but one-fifth of your money becomes accessible every six to twelve months. You get the higher yield of long-term CDs while maintaining periodic liquidity.

Valley First member service representatives can walk you through setting up a CD ladder that aligns with your cash flow needs — whether you are saving for a home purchase in three years or building a supplemental income stream for retirement. There is no fee for structuring a CD ladder, and you can adjust each rung independently as your timeline shifts. For additional guidance on savings goal planning with Valley First, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers free tools and worksheets for setting and tracking financial targets.

High-Yield Savings and Money Market Accounts

High-yield and money market accounts bridge the gap between the accessibility of checking and the earning power of CDs, with tiered rates that reward larger balances.

The Valley First High-Yield Savings account operates much like a standard savings account — unlimited online transfers, 24/7 balance access through the mobile app, and no maturity date to track. The difference is the rate. Balances below $2,500 earn the base tier; balances from $2,500 to $9,999 earn the mid-tier; and balances of $10,000 and above earn the top published rate. Valley First adjusts the rate automatically as your balance crosses each threshold, so you never need to open a new account to capture the higher earnings.

The Money Market account adds limited transaction capabilities on top of competitive rates. You can write up to six checks per month with a Valley First Money Market account, use a Valley First-issued debit card for purchases, and access funds through any ATM. This makes money market accounts useful for business operating reserves, real estate escrow accounts, or personal savings you may need to tap for large irregular expenses like property tax payments or home renovations. The trade-off is a higher minimum balance requirement — $2,500 to open and maintain to avoid the $10 monthly fee.

Both Valley First savings account types earn interest that compounds daily and credits monthly. You can monitor accrued interest in real time through Valley First online banking and download year-end tax documents directly from the Valley First statement archive.

Opening a Savings Account or CD

You can open any Valley First savings product online in under ten minutes, at any of the 42 Valley First California branches, or by phone at (559) 555-0142.

The Valley First application requirements are straightforward: a valid government-issued photo ID, your Social Security number, and the applicable minimum opening deposit. For savings and money market accounts, you can fund the opening deposit via ACH transfer from an external bank, debit card, or an existing Valley First account. CDs must be funded at account opening and do not accept additional deposits during the term.

Once your account is active, you can set up recurring automatic transfers from your Valley First checking account — weekly, biweekly, or monthly — to build savings on a schedule you will not have to think about. Many Valley First members pair a free Essential Checking account with a High-Yield Savings account, keeping daily spending money in checking while directing surplus cash into savings where it earns a meaningfully higher rate.

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