How Your Savings Can Help Support the Financially Vulnerable: Our partnership with Ponce Bank
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The History of Ponce Bank
Ponce Bank was founded in the Bronx in 1960 to support underserved immigrant and minority communities. Raisin chose to partner with Ponce Bank to bring high-yield savings products to our savers from a bank that encourages minority financial empowerment and celebrates diversity-focused initiatives.
Here's why we think you should consider Ponce Bank – and how by doing so you’re also supporting their community-focused mission to help financially-vulnerable populations.
Ponce Bank is a True Community Bank
Ponce Bank was founded in 1960 after many financial institutions fled the Bronx, which was perceived as a community in decline. The founders’ mission, unchanged today, is to help low-income and minority customers, as well as local small businesses. According to CEO Carlos Naudon, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. By investing in and serving these traditionally underbanked individuals and businesses, Ponce Bank improves the communities around them.
Ponce Bank is a Minority Depository Institution (MDI)
This means minority individuals make up more than 50% of the board or voting shareholders. Ponce Bank has 13 physical locations, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx in New York City and one branch in Union City, New Jersey. Most of these branches are managed by Latinx and minority team members who mirror the communities they serve.
Ponce Bank Gives Back
In 2019 Ponce Bank’s not-for-profit entity, The Ponce de Leon Foundation, donated almost $500,000 to organizations that help their surrounding neighborhoods. These included non-profits supporting affordable housing, economic development, and programs for youths and seniors.
Ponce Bank Offers More
Most banks offer traditional savings accounts with low interest rates. In fact, the current national average interest rate for a savings account is 0.05%. Ponce Bank offers higher-yield savings accounts than most. Although rates change frequently, today Ponce Bank offers 0.50% APY on its high-yield savings accounts through the Save Better platform.
Here’s how much of a difference a high-yield savings account makes. If you have $5,000 in a traditional savings account with 0.05% APY, you’ll earn $2.50 in interest over the first year and $5 in interest after two years.
If you keep that $5,000 in a high-yield savings account at Ponce Bank, you’ll earn $25 in interest after one year and $50 after two years. That’s 10 times the amount you’d receive with a traditional savings account.
Ponce Bank is CDFI certified
Ponce Bank is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), meaning that it focuses on low-income and underserved populations. A bank earns CDFI status by placing over 80% of its loans in these often neglected communities and during 2019 Ponce Bank loaned over 84% of its funding to these communities in dire need.
Investing in low and moderate income communities is always important, but especially so during the Covid-19 pandemic. Low-income individuals have been hit especially hard by the recession, and using a CDFI like Ponce Bank with community-focused service initiatives can help those affected recover faster.
Ponce Bank is only one of 38 banks in the country to be both a CDFI and an MDI and proudly serves customers and small businesses that might be rejected or neglected by larger organizations.
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*APY means Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of April 25, 2026. Interest rate and APY may change after initial deposit depending on the terms of the specific product selected. Minimum opening deposit is $1.00.
Raisin is not an FDIC-insured bank, and FDIC deposit insurance only covers the failure of an insured bank.
Raisin is not an NCUA-insured credit union. NCUA deposit insurance only covers the failure of an insured credit union.
Raisin does not hold any customer funds. Customer funds are held in various custodial deposit accounts. Each customer authorizes the Custodial Bank to hold the customer’s funds in such accounts, in a custodial capacity, in order to effectuate the customer’s deposits to and withdrawals from the various bank and credit union products that the customer requests through Raisin.com. The Custodial Bank does not establish the terms of the bank or credit union products and provides no advice to customers about bank or credit union products offered by the applicable bank or credit union through Raisin.com. Each customer also authorizes the Service Bank to move funds among the various banks and credit unions at the customer’s request. First International Bank & Trust (FIBT), Member FDIC, is the Service Bank. Bell Bank and Starion Bank, each Member FDIC, are the Custodial Banks.
†Based on $250,000 in FDIC or NCUA insurance coverage per insurable category of ownership at each partner bank or credit union on the Raisin platform (each a "Product Bank"), when aggregated with all other deposits held by you at such Product Bank and in the same insurable category. Deposits made through Raisin will be eligible to receive deposit insurance from the FDIC or the NCUA (each a "Deposit Insurer") in accordance with and up to the maximum amount permitted by law at each Product Bank. Raisin is not a bank or credit union and does not hold any customer funds. Funds are held at FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank or credit union. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass through deposit insurance coverage to apply. Customers may choose to deposit funds with identically registered accounts at different Product Banks on the Raisin platform to be eligible for Deposit Insurer coverage up to $10 million for individual accounts and $20 million for joint accounts when at least 40 Product Banks are utilized. Please be aware, however, that any deposits you have at a Product Bank, whether through the Raisin platform or outside the Raisin platform, that you may hold in the same capacity (such as in an individual capacity or joint capacity) count toward the applicable Deposit Insurer's deposit insurance maximum amount, and any such amounts that you hold in the same capacity at a Product Bank that exceed the maximum insurance coverage by the applicable Deposit Insurer will not be insured. For more information on FDIC deposit insurance, please see here. For more information on the NCUA share insurance fund, please see here. You are solely responsible for monitoring the amount of funds you have on deposit at each a Product Bank, whether through the Raisin platform or outside the Raisin platform, to confirm that the deposits you hold in the same capacity at each Product Bank do not exceed the maximum deposit insurance coverage provided by the applicable Deposit Insurer.