Farmers and Merchants Bank headquartered in Virginia still offers their best checking account that gains 4.01% APY for balances through $50,000. Interested individuals can open the reward checking account for a deposit of at least $10.

Amounts above the set ceiling of $50K earns 1.04% APY. The account also refunds fees to ATM transactions done nationwide without any limits as long as consumers meet the following requirements: use the check card to make 10 purchases, opt for electronic statements, use online banking, and set up an ACH debit or a direct deposit.

The rate drops to 0.10% if the above requirements are not satisfied by the account holder. According to the disclosure the bank does not collect any monthly fees nor do they impose any balance requirements.

Multiple checking accounts can be opened with the bank but as an account holder you must be able to satisfy the monthly requirements for each of the account to get the top yield. The first set of 100 checks is free.

The bank accepts applications from any state. The bank representative will ask consumers who reside outside their main market area to send in pertinent documents for the application. The process can be completed via mail so out-of-state applicants need not worry.

During the application, the bank may ask you to send copies of notarized identification cards like your driver’s licensed. It will also be best to clarify if the bank does a hard credit pull which can ding your credit rating.

Farmers and Merchants Bank has offices in Luray, Harrisonburg, Woodstock, Edinburg, Bridgewater, Elkton, Broadway, and Timberville which are all in the western portion of Virginia.

The bank is insured with the FDIC through certificate # 8668.