Emprise Bank suits people who live near its 31 branches in Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, get paid by direct deposit and use a debit card at least 12 times a month, because those are the habits its rewards checking pays for. If you live elsewhere, want a sign-up bonus, or want a high savings rate with no monthly hoops, look at the best online banks or the three alternatives below.
Emprise Bank at a glance
Best for debit card users in Kansas and Kansas CityNot near a branch? Skip to the alternatives further down. Ready to apply? See checking accounts at Emprise Bank
What Emprise Bank is and where it operates
Emprise Bank is a community bank based in Wichita, Kansas, that has been open since 1910. FDIC records show about $2.8 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2026. That makes it a sizable regional bank, not a national one.
Its site lists 31 locations. Eleven are in Wichita. Nineteen more are in other Kansas communities: Andover, Augusta, Chanute, Clearwater, Council Grove, Derby, El Dorado, Eureka, Goddard, Hays, Haysville, Hillsboro, Humboldt, Iola, Lawrence, McPherson, Park City, Potwin and Valley Center. One is in Kansas City, Missouri. There is also a commercial office in Omaha, Nebraska, that sees customers by appointment only.
Emprise is a Member FDIC bank, so your deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. The bank also says it has made the Forbes Best-In-State Banks list for Kansas five years in a row, from 2021 to 2025.
Emprise Bank accounts and rates
Emprise has two main checking accounts, both free, and both pay you for using them. Savings is a mixed bag: one good rate that depends on your checking activity, and ordinary rates on everything else.
| Account | Rate or reward | Minimum to open | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Interest Checking | 3.50% APY on up to $10,000 when you qualify | $100 | $0 |
| Cash Back Checking | 2% cash back, up to $6 a month when you qualify | $100 | $0 |
| Student Checking | None listed | $25 | $0 |
| Savings Plus | 2.50% APY on up to $50,000 with qualifying checking | $25 | $0 |
| Money Market | 1.40% to 2.05% APY, top rate from $100,000 | $100 | $10, or $0 with $2,500 |
| Regular Savings | 0.15% APY | $100 | $5, or $0 with $250 |
| CDs | 2.50% to 3.75% APY, top rate on a 15 month special | $1,000 | None |
Rates and fees read on Emprise Bank’s own rate and account pages at this update. Rates are variable and can change.
High Interest Checking
High Interest Checking pays 3.50% APY on balances up to $10,000. Anything above $10,000 earns a 0.35% interest rate, so the more you keep over that line, the lower your overall yield. To get the top rate you have to do three things every month: make at least 12 debit card purchases, stay enrolled in eStatements, and have at least one direct deposit, automatic deposit or automatic withdrawal. Miss one and the whole balance earns 0.01% APY that month. The account stays free either way.
Cash Back Checking
Cash Back Checking pays 2% back on debit card purchases, capped at $6 a month. That is $72 a year at most, and you reach the cap after $300 of monthly debit spending. The monthly requirements are the same three. Miss one and you get no cash back that month.
Which one pays more comes down to your balance. At 3.50% APY, High Interest Checking beats $72 a year once you keep about $2,100 in the account. Below that, take the cash back.
Both accounts refund domestic out-of-network ATM fees of $4.99 or less in months you qualify, up to $25 a month. There is also a Student Checking account for ages 10 to 23 with a $25 minimum to open, no monthly fee and no overdraft fees. To see how these compare nationally, check our list of the best checking accounts.
MoreBest rewards checking accounts
Savings Plus, Regular Savings and Money Market
Savings Plus pays 2.50% APY on balances up to $50,000, but there is a catch. You can only open it alongside Cash Back or High Interest Checking, and it only pays that rate in months you meet the checking requirements. Otherwise it pays 0.01% APY.
The standalone options pay less. Regular Savings earns 0.15% APY and costs $5 a month if your average daily balance falls under $250. The Money Market account pays 1.40% APY on balances under $50,000, 1.55% from $50,000 and 2.05% from $100,000, with a $10 monthly fee unless you keep a $2,500 average daily balance or $10,000 in combined deposits. You can find stronger rates among the best money market accounts.
If you want a high rate without the monthly checklist, the best high-yield savings accounts pay more. Raisin lists savings rates up to 4.25% APY with a $1 minimum to open.
CDs
Standard CD terms run from three months to five years and pay 2.50% to 2.65% APY, with a $1,000 minimum. The better deals are two specials: a 9 month CD at 3.60% APY and a 15 month CD at 3.75% APY. There is also an 18 month variable-rate CD at 2.40% APY that takes $100 to open and lets you add $100 or more at a time. Emprise may charge a penalty if you withdraw early.
MoreBest CD rates
New account promotions
Emprise does not advertise a public sign-up bonus. Its one offer is a refer-a-friend deal worth $50. You need a referral code from an existing customer, a new personal checking account, at least one direct deposit and 12 debit card purchases within 60 days. You also cannot have had an Emprise personal checking or savings account in the past 12 months.
If a bonus matters to you, Chase Total Checking pays $400 once your direct deposits total $1,000 or more within 90 days, and that offer expires 01/27/2027. Our list of the best bank account bonuses has more.
Emprise Bank fees and how to avoid them
The everyday accounts are free to hold. Cash Back Checking, High Interest Checking, Student Checking and Savings Plus have no monthly service fee, even in months you miss the rewards requirements. The fees that can cost you are below.
| Fee | Cost | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee, Regular Savings | $5 | Keep a $250 average daily balance. |
| Monthly fee, Money Market | $10 | Keep a $2,500 average daily balance or $10,000 in combined deposits. |
| Overdraft | $32 per item, up to five a day | Link a savings account to cover shortfalls, or opt out of debit card overdraft coverage. |
| Out-of-network ATM | $1.50 per withdrawal, plus the ATM owner’s fee | Use Emprise or Allpoint ATMs. Rewards checking refunds up to $25 a month when you qualify. |
| Extra savings withdrawals | $3 each after three a month on Regular Savings, $5 each after six on Money Market | Withdraw at an Emprise ATM, where there is no limit. |
| Closing an account early | $25 within 180 days of opening | Keep the account open at least six months. |
| Foreign transactions | Up to 2% | Use a card with no foreign transaction fee when you travel. |
Overdrafts are the expensive one. At $32 per item and up to five a day, one bad day can cost $160. Emprise does not charge when the account is overdrawn by less than $5 or when the item is $2 or less. It helps to know how overdraft fees work before you decide whether to keep overdraft coverage switched on.
One more thing to check: Emprise’s schedule of charges lists online bill pay at $1.95 a month per user and names a few older account types as exempt. It does not say whether Cash Back or High Interest Checking is covered, so ask before you set up bill pay.
Digital banking and customer service
Emprise’s mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. You can check balances, move money, pay bills, deposit checks with your phone’s camera and set real-time alerts. A built-in budgeting tool called MyInsights tracks your spending and lets you connect accounts from other banks so you see everything in one place.
The debit card is a contactless Mastercard that works with mobile wallets. A separate free app, Card Suite Lite, lets you set spending limits, get transaction alerts and switch the card off if it is lost.
For help, the contact center is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can also chat, text or book a video appointment. That is solid for a community bank, but it is not round-the-clock support, so plan around those hours if you need a person.
Emprise Bank pros and cons
- 3.50% APY on checking balances up to $10,000 when you meet the monthly requirements
- No monthly fee or minimum balance on Cash Back, High Interest and Student Checking
- Free at 55,000 Allpoint ATMs, plus up to $25 a month in ATM fee refunds when you qualify
- 31 branches across Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri
- Miss one requirement and High Interest Checking pays 0.01% APY that month
- Regular Savings pays 0.15% APY, and Savings Plus needs a rewards checking account
- $32 overdraft fee, up to five a day
- No public sign-up bonus and no branches outside its home region
Who Emprise Bank is best for
Emprise works best as your main checking account when three things are true: you live or work near a branch, your paycheck arrives by direct deposit, and you use your debit card at least 12 times a month. In that case High Interest Checking is hard to beat. On a $10,000 balance, 3.50% APY is about $350 a year from an account with no monthly fee.
It is a weaker fit if you mostly pay with a credit card. Twelve debit purchases a month becomes a chore, and one missed month drops the rate to 0.01% APY. It is also not the place to park a large savings balance on its own, since Regular Savings pays 0.15% APY. And if you move away from Kansas or Kansas City, you keep the app and the Allpoint ATMs but lose the branches.
If any of that sounds like you, start with the alternatives below.
Alternatives if Emprise is not a fit
These three cover the main reasons to pass on Emprise: you want a sign-up bonus from a big national bank, you want an account with no monthly fee that you can open from anywhere, or you want a higher savings rate without monthly requirements.
Chase Total Checking
SoFi Checking and Savings
RaisinOffers and rates verified on each company’s site at this update. Terms apply.
| Account | Offer or rate | Monthly fee | What it takes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emprise High Interest Checking | 3.50% APY on up to $10,000 | $0 | 12 debit card purchases, eStatements and one direct deposit or automatic payment a month | See Emprise |
| Chase Total Checking | $400 bonus | $15 or $0 | $1,000 in direct deposits within 90 days | Get $400 |
| SoFi Checking and Savings | Up to $450 bonus | $0 | $5,000 in direct deposits within 25 days ($1,000 earns $50) | Get up to $450 |
| Raisin | Up to 4.25% APY | $0 | $1 to open | See rates |
Chase Total Checking: Offer expires 01/27/2027. Not available to existing Chase checking customers, those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last 3 years. One new checking account opening bonus every two years. $0 Monthly Service Fee with any one of: $500+ in qualifying electronic deposits, a $1,500 balance at the beginning of each day, a $5,000 average beginning day balance across linked qualifying accounts, or a linked qualifying checking account. Otherwise a $15 Monthly Service Fee applies. Account subject to approval. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
SoFi Checking and Savings: The $450 is three bonuses: up to $400 for direct deposit (first eligible deposit by 12/31/2026), $25 for opening your first SoFi account and depositing $50 or more within 25 days, and $25 for enrolling in SoFi Plus, a paid subscription. SoFi lists the two $25 bonuses as running October 1 to October 21, 2026. Only recurring income such as payroll or benefits counts as direct deposit. See SoFi for current rates and full terms. SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Raisin: Rates vary by product and can change. The 4.25% APY is a 60-day rate lock for new Raisin users, then it shifts to a standard variable APY. The highest rate listed without that label is 4.12% APY. Bonus: new customers, code STACK, first deposit must be started by October 31, 2026, $10,000 or more held 90 days. Raisin is not a bank. Deposits are held at FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions.
How to open an Emprise Bank account
You can open checking, savings and money market accounts online, along with some CDs, or you can book an appointment at a branch. Emprise says you do not have to live in Wichita and that it serves customers across Kansas, Missouri and surrounding communities. It does not publish a list of eligible states on its account pages, so if you live far from a branch, confirm you qualify during the application.
Before you start Have $100 ready for Cash Back or High Interest Checking. Student Checking and Savings Plus take $25, and CDs take $1,000.
If an Emprise customer gave you a referral code, enter it at the very end of the online application, just before you submit. That is the only way to get the $50 referral bonus. New to this? Here is how to open a checking account.
Open an account at Emprise Bank
Emprise Bank FAQs
If you live outside Kansas and Kansas City, or you want a sign-up bonus, start with these three. Chase Total Checking pays $400 once your direct deposits total $1,000 or more within 90 days, and the offer expires 01/27/2027. SoFi Checking and Savings pays up to $450 when your direct deposits reach $5,000 within 25 days. Raisin lists savings rates up to 4.25% APY with a $1 minimum to open.
Yes. Emprise Bank is a state-chartered bank based in Wichita, Kansas, that has operated since 1910. It is a Member FDIC bank under certificate number 4789, so deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. FDIC records show about $2.8 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2026. If you want to know how that insurance works in practice, read what happens when a bank fails.
The Emprise Bank routing number is 101100579. The bank shows it at the top of its website. You need it, along with your account number, to set up direct deposit or an automatic payment. Here is how to find your bank account number.
Emprise lists 31 locations: 11 in Wichita, 19 in other Kansas communities including Lawrence, Hays, McPherson, Derby and El Dorado, and one in Kansas City, Missouri. It also has a commercial office in Omaha, Nebraska, that takes appointments only. Away from a branch, the debit card works without a surcharge at 55,000 Allpoint ATMs.
At this update, standard Emprise CDs pay 2.50% to 2.65% APY for terms from three months to five years, with a $1,000 minimum. Two specials pay more: 3.60% APY for 9 months and 3.75% APY for 15 months. CD rates change often, so confirm the current rate with Emprise before you open one.
Not a public one. The only offer is a $50 referral bonus. You need a referral code from an existing customer, a new personal checking account, at least one direct deposit and 12 debit card purchases within 60 days. You also cannot have had an Emprise personal checking or savings account in the past 12 months.
Apply on Emprise Bank’s website or book an appointment at a branch. Cash Back Checking and High Interest Checking take $100 to open, and Savings Plus and Student Checking take $25. To earn the rewards, enroll in eStatements, set up a direct deposit or automatic payment, and make 12 debit card purchases each month.
