Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Next Project Edition

By: Georgia

Georgia — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:10:39 +0000

I have 3 savings accounts with Emigrant-Direct and they have been excellent. I don’t have a checking. I can transfer money easily from them to my bank. If after a certain time of the day, you get it in 2 days, if before you get it the next day. If you order on Friday, you get it on Mon or Tues according to the time of day you posted. When I opened the account it was 5.05% APY and is now down to 1.30%. But it still seems to be comparable to other rates I’ve seen and it has been easy to manage. I have direct deposits made from my checking at my regular bank each month.

By: Griffin

Griffin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:58:07 +0000

I need one that will accept PayPal payments. So far, bupkis.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:19:48 +0000

My bank has budget management tools built right in to my online access to my account. So I can track my spending in various categories without having to transfer my information to a third party, like Wasabe. This is not something I have found with ING. I would be interested to know how many banks have these budgeting tools available.

By: Jo

Jo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:41:28 +0000

Russ, it isn’t so much a credit issue as it is banks looking at how many accounts that have been opened in the past 12 months. I am pretty sure it is to verify that there’s no “kiting” going on, and rate chasing, etc.

Trent, that is still a GREAT idea. Gotta ask, however, if you’re familiar with the Bank Deals – Bank Rates and Deals website (another blog) which I follow daily. Like yours, those who follow Banking Guy, are given a dearth of information regarding banks’ promos, where they stand with Bauer Financial and Bankrate.com. He has also listed all the banks that have failed in the past year.

I am not saying you would be posting the same things as Banking Guy has. You’ll be addressing many different issues that is missed by BG. No matter, cuz I will be following yours equally.

Knowledge is power. Thank you for all you do!

By: Shelly

Shelly — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:32:02 +0000

Minor typo — on the last link about the week without spending, they actually *made* $3, not the other way around. :)

By: Russ

Russ — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:10:41 +0000

Um.. let’s review:

“I’m going to open accounts at a bevy of online banks”.

Have you condsidered the consequences to your credit? Will the banks be leary of so many recent inquiries from other banks? These won’t be soft hits.

Maybe you can start a message board for this site and get all kinds of feedback on several financial insite from your viewers.

Just a thought!

By: mes

mes — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:10:02 +0000

I’m interested in the general intuitiveness of the web sites. Is it easy to navigate, and do what you want to do, without using the help menus? Another thing I’d wonder about is the ease of downloading transactions into Quicken. Some companies make it really easy and others seem to make it as difficult as possible.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:27:51 +0000

Will you please review South Shore Bank in Chicago? I am currently using them because their online savings rate is the highest around and they are a community development bank.

By: Mary W

Mary W — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:06:58 +0000

I’d enjoy having you include a local credit union or two in your investigation. Often credit unions are suggested sources of good, relatively cheap loans, but they don’t have the money to lend unless members make deposits.

My primary *bank* is still the same credit union I joined when got my first job. I’m now retired. Customer service has been great, but I’m not sure how interest stacks up.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:25:23 +0000

Thank you for doing this! I look forward to reading these posts. I’d most like to know how easy it is to make deposits into these accounts. If I have a check made out to me, what are my options for depositing that into my account? How long does it take for the deposit to be acknowledged? How long does it take for the money to be useable?

By: Ruth

Ruth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:20:17 +0000

Oh, and how long the statement history is stored on the website. I just found with one of my accounts that only the previous month is easily accessed, the other statements have to be downloaded to view.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:18:54 +0000

I’d like to know:

How long it takes to set up an account
How long bank transfers take (to other customers and to customers of other banks)
Atm fees
Interest rates and requirements to get them
Website ease of use
How much it costs to get checks
Customer service experience
Any extra charges/fees
Any other “gotchas” that make it difficult to add or remove your money from the account.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:20:28 +0000

In addition to taking into account the nrates and the features of the bank, the actual user interface of the website is really important to me. For example, I love T Rowe Price’s website. It’s neat, organized, easy to navigate etc. Many well known bank websites look like a high schooler’s first web design project, or they haven’t been updated since the 90′s. I would pay a slightly higher fee or take a slightly lower interest rate to use a website that is up to today’s standards. I think including screen shots and rating the ease of navigating the site would be a great idea.

By: sumokitty

sumokitty — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:13:58 +0000

I would like an online bank that considers client relationship before returning a check.

I am w/ING. This just happened to me: I originated a electronic debit from my credit card provider to pay credit card bill. I did this weeks before the actual debit date. Although I had sufficient funds in other ING subaccounts, when my electronic debit posted to the designated account, it was returned for NSF. (it was NSF by less than $100). Considering I had direct deposit in a few days, and especially since I had money in other ING subaccounts (thanks to you Trent for the prior “subaccount” lesson), the check was returned and I incurred a whopping $40 returned check fee from credit card issuer. Ouch ! This really hurts because I HAD THE MONEY. But made a one-time mistake and didn’t have enough money in the right account.

By: Trent

Trent — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:06:23 +0000

“I second or third any suggestions that you fabricate a reason to call them and see how helpful they are able to be. I use USAA exclusively and wonder how good the service is for other banks.”

Oh, I have some good ideas along this path. Banks, watch out…

By: John Smith

John Smith — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:52:06 +0000

I think before you start reviewing perhaps it would be great to take the course of action of the following:
1) History of online banks and pros/cons in general
2) Reviews (Measure all the banks with the same yard stick please!)
3) Conclusion / Lessons learned with a single post/table of features with links to each review.

Good luck on your journey and grats on the book.

By: Marsh

Marsh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:50:33 +0000

Great project! I agree with Johanna–international transactions.

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:44:04 +0000

EDIT – $600 is the minimum for 1099-MISC, not 1099-INT/DIV.

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:41:07 +0000

I use ING too and it seems like it takes forever for the money to transfer and be available. I would definitely like to see a comparison of this against other online banks.

RE 1099s – FWIW, the bank isn’t required to issue one unless the total is over $10, but you’re still required to report all interest earned.

By: bethh

bethh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:40:35 +0000

I second or third any suggestions that you fabricate a reason to call them and see how helpful they are able to be. I use USAA exclusively and wonder how good the service is for other banks.