Clint Arnoldus likes to upset the apple cart.

In 2004, Central Pacific Bank's chief executive office shook up the local banking industry when his company acquired rival City Bank in a $420 million deal.

Now, his bank is trying to lure away his competitors' business with a checking account featuring a 4.55 percent annual interest rate.

"We want to run hard against our competition," Arnoldus said.

"We're the fourth-largest financial institution in the state. We have to run hard. We have to differentiate ourselves through products like this."

The competition might want to run away from this kind of offering.

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Florida-based personal finance Web site bankrate.com, said a checking account that offers customers an interest rate of 4 percent or more is virtually unheard of with a traditional bank. It even exceeds the rates offered by Internet banks, whose rates have been the most competitive.

According to McBride, the national average for an interest checking account at traditional banks is 0.3 percent.

"The concept of high interest and checking accounts is almost an oxymoron in the brick-and-mortar banking world," McBride said.

"Checking accounts by and large are not interest-rate sensitive and the yields are at rock-bottom levels."

The plan, dubbed "choice checking," carries an interest rate that's as high as some of the highest rates offered locally for a 12-month certificate of deposit.

But unlike a CD, your money isn't tied up for six months or a year, Central Pacific executives said.

There's a minimum opening balance of $50 and customers must make 15 check-card purchases each month. They are required to make a monthly automatic deposit and a monthly automatic bill payment.

Customers also access their bank accounts once a month and must use the Central Pacific check safekeeping program once a month.

If the customer does not meet all of these conditions, the interest rate drops way down to .05 percent. The interest rate also falls to 0.5 percent on checking account balances above $25,000.

"I think all of my checking accounts are under 1 percent," said Kane'ohe resident Diane Shimabukuro. "This is very aggressive for this market."

According to Arnoldus, the program is the first of its kind in Hawai'i and is designed to build market share in a highly competitive market.

He said similar programs initiated on the Mainland have been received well by consumers.

Honolulu resident Susana Choy said she's intrigued by the offering. Choy said most banks offer less than that.

"I don't expect much from a checking account. Traditionally they don't give you that much," Choy said.

"You have to go out of your way to get any interest on your checking account."

Founded in 1954, Central Pacific is the state's No. 4 bank, behind the $12.5 billion-in-assets First Hawaiian Bank; Bank of Hawaii, which lists $10.7 billion in assets; and American Savings Bank, which has $6.8 billion in assets.

Central Pacific has $5.6 billion in assets.

Since its 2004 merger with City Bank, Central Pacific has taken a number of steps to increase its presence in the local market. They include: