Update 9/20/2009: Savings Square’s Interest Rate dropped from 1.70% to 1.55% APY.

SavingsSquare.com, a product of Kirkpatrick Bank, is offering a 1.70% high-yield online savings account.

The account Savings Square is offering requires a minimum opening deposit of $1.00 and has a maximum opening deposit of $100,000. There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Savings Square delivers statements electronically on a monthly basis and the application can be completed online, however some customers may be required to mail in copies of identification. Savings Square does not do a hard credit pull, meaning that your credit score will not be negatively affected by opening a new account.

Savings Square makes use of CashEdge’s electronic transfer service to move funds in and out of the account to linked checking and savings accounts. HSBC Direct and FNBO Direct also make use of CashEdge’s services. Some have reported delays in the bank’s ACH transfers that have resulted in a small loss of interest. Savings Square does not block external ACH pushes and pulls from third-party institutions.

The interest rate that Savings Square is offering is relatively competitive in today’s market. Typically, banks are offering interest rates between 1.30% and 1.50%. Some of the more competitive banks are offering rates between 1.50% and 1.70%, with a few going as high as 2.0%. Although Savings Square isn’t offering the top interest rate available, it’s certainly one of the better rates that one can get with an online savings account.

Kirkpatrick Bank, headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma launched Savings Square in May of 2007. The bank was originally chartered in 1970 as American Bank and Trust but was acquired in 1988 by the Kirkpatrick family during the savings and loan crisis. The bank currently has $454 million in assets and $369 million in deposits. Kirkpatrick bank is a FDIC member and currently receives a 2 star rating from BankRate.com’s “Safe and Sound” rating system.