Digital Bank Frequently Asked Questions

We are an FDIC-chartered bank with headquarters in Irvine, CA. Founded in 2007, we have been providing banking services to the builders and investors in our communities.

From relationship banking to real estate financing, First Foundation Bank is there at every stage and at each moment you need us—and even when you don’t. Sophisticated solutions with personal service, we’re helping you live and share the life you’ve dreamed of.

First Foundation is an extraordinary team of professionals united around a single cause: to enable growth-minded individuals and businesses to boldly live the life they imagined and preserve the legacy they’ve worked so hard to build—knowing we have their backs at every moment, especially the ones that matter.

First Foundation Bank. With you, when it matters most. To learn more about all that we offer, please visit firstfoundationinc.com.

Yes. First Foundation Bank is an FDIC member, which means that funds deposited in your First Foundation Bank online savings accounts are insured up to the maximum allowed by law.

The FDIC insures deposits according to ownership category (such as individual, joint, or accounts with beneficiaries). The current maximums are $250,000 in all your individual accounts combined, $250,000 per owner in all your jointly-owned accounts, and $250,000 in all the accounts where you are a named beneficiary.

Our customers are not required to apply for or request coverage. However, to ensure your funds are fully protected, it’s important to understand your deposit insurance limits.

To determine how much insurance is applicable to your accounts at First Foundation Bank and for any other FDIC insurance requirements that may apply, please visit the FDIC website at www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC directly at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

At its website, the FDIC provides consumers with the Deposit Insurance Summary guide, the comprehensive Your Insured Deposits guide, and the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), an online tool you can use to calculate your actual FDIC insurance coverage. You can find the EDIE calculator at www.fdic.gov/edie.

Yes, First Foundation has 30 branch office locations across Southern California, Northern California, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. 

Existing clients can open Digital Bank accounts through the online application portal by selecting ‘Log In’ in the top right, verifying your identity, and completing the application process. Please note that this account can only be opened online and funds from existing accounts with First Foundation Bank do not qualify for the published Digital Bank rates. If you have a current savings account with First Foundation Bank and you open an account online, you will receive consolidated statements for each of your First Foundation Bank accounts.

122287581

We do not assess service charges or transaction fees for transfers to or from Digital Bank accounts. However, your external bank or third party may charge a fee.

View Fee Schedule

No, there is no monthly fee.

No, there is no fee to close an account.

A Debit Card can be requested for the Online Money Market account.

Yes. You may order and write checks on the Online Money Market account.

First Foundation Bank Online Money Market accounts cannot be funded through existing First Foundation Bank accounts.

No, we do not run a credit check.

The rate is variable and can change at any time.

Interest compounds daily and posts at month end.

You can pick up right where you left off by going to the application start page and clicking on ‘Log In’ in the top right. Follow the instructions to verify your identity, and your application will be retrieved. 

Yes, our fax number is (949) 732-7478.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add beneficiaries from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a beneficiary to and enter the required information.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add signers from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a signer to. You will be asked to provide their name and email address, and the requested joint signer will receive an email request to complete their part of the application to be added.

You can view the terms and conditions of this account by accessing the document below.

Terms & Conditions

Yes, the minimum deposit to open an Online Money Market account is $1000.

Deposits made to your First Foundation Bank Online Money Market account will begin to accrue interest as soon as they are deposited and verified. Please note, initial deposits might take up to three business days to clear and show in your new First Foundation Bank account.

Not at this time. Accounts opened online are only available to individual and joint applicants. During the application process, you may add each beneficiary from your trust as a beneficiary to your account.

To determine how much insurance is applicable to your accounts at First Foundation Bank and for any other FDIC insurance requirements that may apply, please visit the FDIC website at www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC directly at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

On its website, the FDIC provides consumers with the Deposit Insurance Summary guide, the comprehensive Your Insured Deposits guide, and the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), an online tool you can use to calculate your actual FDIC insurance coverage. You can find the EDIE calculator at www.fdic.gov/edie.

An ATM Card can be requested for the Online Savings account.

First Foundation Bank Online Savings accounts cannot be funded through existing First Foundation Bank accounts.

No, we do not run a credit check.

The rate is variable and can change at any time. 

Interest compounds daily and posts at month end.

You can pick up right where you left off by going to the application start page and clicking on ‘Log In’ in the top right. Follow the instructions to verify your identity and use the menu in the top right under your name to retrieve your application.

Yes, our fax number is (949) 732-7478.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add beneficiaries from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a beneficiary to and enter the required information.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add signers from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a signer to. You will be asked to provide their name and email address, and the requested joint signer will receive an email request to complete their part of the application to be added.

You can view the terms and conditions of this account by accessing the document below.

Terms & Conditions

Yes, the minimum deposit to open an Online Savings account is $1000.

Deposits made to your First Foundation Bank Online Savings account will begin to accrue interest as soon as they are deposited and verified. Please note, initial deposits might take up to three business days to clear and show in your new First Foundation Bank account. 

Not at this time. Accounts opened online are only available to individual and joint applicants. During the application process, you may add each beneficiary from your trust as a beneficiary to your account.

To determine how much insurance is applicable to your accounts at First Foundation Bank and for any other FDIC insurance requirements that may apply, please visit the FDIC website at www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC directly at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

On its website, the FDIC provides consumers with the Deposit Insurance Summary guide, the comprehensive Your Insured Deposits guide, and the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), an online tool you can use to calculate your actual FDIC insurance coverage. You can find the EDIE calculator at www.fdic.gov/edie.

Once your account has been opened and funded, navigate to firstfoundationinc.com. Click the green Sign In button in the top right of our homepage and then “Enroll Now” under “Personal Banking.” Alternatively, you can enroll on the homepage of our mobile app by selecting “First Time User? Enroll Now.”

Fill out all the requested information and then click “Begin enrollment.” You will be presented with questions from your public record to verify your identity. Once these have been successfully answered, accept the terms and conditions, establish your username and password, and set up your challenge questions and answers.

You can log into your account by using the Sign In button at the top right of our homepage, https://www.firstfoundationinc.com/

You can also access your account through our mobile app, available here: 

Apple App Store

Google Play

Outside of the funding methods during the application, there are four other ways to deposit money into your First Foundation Bank accounts: 

1. Use the check deposit feature in the First Foundation Bank Mobile app.
2. Transfer funds from an external account within online or mobile banking.
3. Send a wire from another institution.
4. Visit any of our 30 branch locations.

All Digital Bank accounts are automatically enrolled in paperless statements. You can access your paperless statement by logging into your account by using the Sign In button at the top right of our homepage, https://www.firstfoundationinc.com/

All Digital Bank accounts are automatically enrolled in paperless statements. 

There is a daily ATM limit of $500 and daily POS limit of $2,500. We reimburse ATM fees imposed by other banks and ATM operators up to $20 per transaction at any ATM in the country, with no monthly reimbursement limit.

We can provide the Routing number and your account number to provide to your employer.

Our mobile deposit limit is $15,000 per day.

Yes, we will attempt to send email notifications for rate changes to your email on file.

Deposits made by check, mobile deposit, and in-person branch deposit for the first 30 days after account opening will be subject to an extended new account hold. We will always tell you when a hold is placed on your account.

Make your check payable to the name on your account. DO NOT make the check payable to First Foundation Bank—this will cause delays in posting to your account and possibly cause your check to be returned. In the memo line of your check, please also include your account number.

Our check funding mailing address is:

First Foundation Bank
2101 Rosecrans Ave. Suite 4260
El Segundo, CA 90245

Your statement will show the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) instead of the Annual Percentage Yield (APY). APR looks slightly lower than APY because it does not include compounded interest. When comparing savings accounts, you will almost always see APY used since it includes your compounded interest, while your statement will show the APR. SmartAsset has written a helpful blog post on the topic here.

Online Banking will show the yearly Interest Rate instead of the Annual Percentage Yield (APY). The Interest Rate looks slightly lower than the APY because it does not include compounded interest. When comparing savings accounts, you will almost always see APY used since it includes your compounded interest, while Online Banking will show the Interest Rate.

You can use our application funding options to fund your account up to $150,000. If you would rather fund your account later, please contact us for assistance at 888-405-4332. You can then fund your account by check, wire, initiating a transfer from your other bank, mobile deposit, or by bringing cash into one of our branches.

After you enroll for online banking, you can set up external transfers to move funds to or from your accounts at other financial institutions.

To ensure the safety of all accounts at First Foundation Bank, we may place certain limits on automatic transfers from your account. Rest assured there are two easy ways you can still access your money. It is never our intent to keep you from accessing your own money. 

1. Call us. We will gladly help figure out the best way to transfer more money than our stated limits. This might require some additional security measures, which are in place to make certain “you are you” and that the money is going where it is intended. 

2. Initiate the transfer from the other institution you would like the money moved to. Oftentimes larger banks have higher transfer limits. Given they are so large and clients can be just numbers to them, they are able to blanket their accounts with insurance to protect against losses. This insurance does not help make things more secure for you, but protects their own interests against fraudulent behavior.

For the first 60 days after your Online Savings or Online Money Market account is opened, First Foundation Bank will waive any incoming wire fees. You are still responsible for any fees related to sending the wire from your other financial institution or any incoming wires fees after that initial period.

Our external transfer limits are $100,000 per day/settlement period, and up to $250,000 per rolling 30-day period. The transfer settlement period is 3 full business days, over which time any additional transfers will be considered a part of the same $100,000 daily limit. Each time external transfers fully settle, the portion of the daily limit that was being utilized will be reset for use again.

We know there are times when you might need access to more money, so if you need to send in or withdraw more than the preset limits, we have various fund movement options available: you can send us a wire, submit a mobile deposit, mail us a check, or bring cash into any of our branches. We do not offer temporary ACH increases for initial funding transactions. Please contact us at 888-405-4332 and we will work together to accommodate a solution.

If you have multiple accounts at First Foundation Bank, there is no limit to the amount of internal transfers you can process between your accounts.

$2,500 daily

$500 per day

Once your account has been opened, you should receive your debit card within 7-10 business days.

A basic book of 20 checks can be ordered through the online application portal. For anything else, contact us at newaccount@ff-inc.com or 888-405-4332 to place a check order through our preferred partner—Deluxe. Alternatively, you can order checks through any third-party company directly (such as Costco or Deluxe).  Ensure you are entering your correct account information (name, address, and account number) and First Foundation’s routing number: 122287581.

You can send, request, or receive money with Zelle.

1. To get started, log into First Foundation Bank's online banking or mobile app, navigate to Bill Pay and select "Send Money with Zelle®". Accept terms and conditions, enter your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, receive a one-time verification code, enter it, and you're ready to start sending and receiving with Zelle.

2. To send money using Zelle, simply add a trusted recipient's email address or U.S. mobile phone number, enter the amount you'd like to send and an optional note, review, then hit "Send." In most cases, the money is available to your recipient in minutes.

3. To request money using Zelle, choose "Request," select the individual(s) from whom you'd like to request money, enter the amount you'd like to request, include an optional note, review and hit "Request".

4. To receive money, just share your enrolled email address or U.S. mobile phone number with a friend and ask them to send you money with Zelle. 

To learn more about Zelle, visit https://firstfoundationinc.com/zelle

Zelle limits may differ transaction to transaction and will also depend on your recipient’s financial institution.  You can see your remaining limits at any time by selecting “Limits” when you are initiating a transaction via Zelle in your online banking or mobile app.

To learn more about Zelle, visit https://firstfoundationinc.com/zelle

Your email address or U.S. mobile phone number may already be enrolled with Zelle at another bank or credit union. Follow the prompts to switch your email address or U.S. mobile phone number to First Foundation Bank.  Please contact our Online Banking Support team at 888-405-4332 for more assistance.

To learn more about Zelle, visit https://firstfoundationinc.com/zelle

Before you access Bill Pay, you must first accept the terms and conditions.  This must be done within First Foundation’s Personal Online website and not in the mobile app. Once you have accepted the terms and conditions, you may access bill pay both through Personal Online and the mobile app. On First Foundation Personal Online, select “Payments” to access bill pay.  On the First Foundation Mobile app, select “Transfer & Pay” and then select any of the options under “Payments.”

The Personal Checking account does not earn interest.

There is no monthly maintenance fee associated with the Personal Checking account.

When you bank with us, you can make any ATM your ATM. You can use any ATM in the nation and we will reimburse the ATM fee up to $20 per visit. We also won’t charge you a fee on this end.

$100

Not at this time. Accounts opened online are only available to individual and joint applicants. During the application process, you may add each beneficiary from your trust as a beneficiary to your account.

To determine how much insurance is applicable to your accounts at First Foundation Bank and for any other FDIC insurance requirements that may apply, please visit the FDIC website at www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC directly at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

On its website, the FDIC provides consumers with the Deposit Insurance Summary guide, the comprehensive Your Insured Deposits guide, and the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), an online tool you can use to calculate your actual FDIC insurance coverage. You can find the EDIE calculator at www.fdic.gov/edie.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add beneficiaries from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a beneficiary to and enter the required information.

Visit our Personal Checking page.

A certificate of deposit (CD) is a bank deposit account that lets you earn a fixed interest rate in exchange for locking in your deposit for a particular term.

The minimum deposit is $2,500.

You can use our application funding options to fund your account up to $500,000. If you would rather fund your account later, please contact us for assistance. You can then fund your account by check, wire, initiating a transfer from your other bank, or by bringing cash into one of our branches. For more information, please contact the First Foundation Digital Bank team at newaccount@ff-inc.com or 888-405-4332.

Interest is compounded daily and credited to your account monthly. Interest is calculated using the daily balance method. This method applies a daily periodic rate to the principal and interest that has accrued in the account each day.

You will start earning interest the business day we receive your opening deposit. Interest will be paid once per month and added back to the CD.

The maturity date is the last day of the CD’s term and is calculated starting from the day it’s funded.

We will send you a Maturity Notice before your CD’s maturity date. There is a 10-day grace period during which you may withdraw principal without penalty or renew your CD with the same term. You may also close your CD and open a new one with a different term. If you do not contact us by the end of the 10-day grace period (and we do not send you a notice of non-renewal), your CD will automatically renew for another term. The rate for each renewal term will be determined by us on or just before the renewal date. You may call us on or shortly before the maturity date and we can tell you what the interest rate will be for the next renewal term. On accounts with terms of longer than one month we will remind you in advance of the renewal and tell you when the rate will be known for the renewal period.

Yes, you will receive a confirmation when your CD automatically renews. The confirmation will be sent out after the 10-day grace period concludes.

Interest credited to the CD during a term can be withdrawn at any time. Should you request a withdrawal of the principal balance prior to maturity, then you may be subject to an early-withdrawal penalty.

If we consent to a request for a withdrawal that is otherwise not permitted, you may have to pay a penalty. The penalty will be an amount equal to 180 days of interest.

No, but you can open another CD at First Foundation Bank’s then-current rates.

Yes, after your CD has been established, you are able to enroll on our website. Click the Sign In button at the top right of our homepage, https://www.firstfoundationinc.com/, then click the ‘New User? Enroll Here’ option and follow the verification prompts.

No, mobile check deposit services are not offered for CDs. However, if you open a separate checking, savings, or money market account with us, those account types accept mobile deposits and could be used to then transfer and fund your CD. For additional guidance on funding options, please review our other FAQs or reach out to the First Foundation Digital Bank team at newaccount@ff-inc.com or 888-405-4332.

Not at this time. Accounts opened online are only available to individual and joint applicants. During the application process, you may add each beneficiary from your trust as a beneficiary to your account.

Once your account has been opened, you will have the ability to add beneficiaries from the account opening portal. If you are returning to the online application portal, use the ‘Log In’ button in the top right to view your accounts and applications, then select the account you want to add a beneficiary to and enter the required information.