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One United is the first Black Owned internet bank...wtf is that supposed to mean?
One United is the first Black Owned internet bank...wtf is that supposed to mean?
Even though Citibank is on the low end, i have found it very useful with my linked accounts.
I also have the Citibank Ultimate Money account which is basically the same thing as the e-savings but its a checking account (also has Rewards program).
I would switch banks based on some of the problems I have had in the past with citibank but I have been a client since I was 16 (now am 29), so I have 3000 in instant availability with deposits.
Citi is okay, ING is good. They are both slow transferring though some times...
Don't forget 3.25% at Amtrustdirect.com
I like them
btw my WaMu account is at 3.25%, but you gotta deal with WaMu's crappy service
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Hey now, that OneUnited only pays it's interest quarterly. Wouldn't that make it easy to lose out on all your interest if you need to take it out before the end of the quarter?
How is that not a 3 month CD?
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WaMu is 3.30% if you open online, I don't think there's a minimum.
LOL @ Erade. If you're gonna misspell it, might as well call it E-raid or something. :P
Maybe I'm missing out on some really obvious reason nobody ever mentions CapitalOne on these posts, but my rate there is at 2.96 APY with no minimum. I write checks out of that account every month or two (I think you can write a handful a mont), but they're fairly typical, like others, at taking three full days to transfer money electronically.
I don't really understand the hype about ING. Their rates are always average among the high-yield banks. I will say, as a plus, that when I called their support number, I didn't even have to go through a menu; a person picked up after two rings. I was shocked.
PayPal is currently offering 2.61% on your account balance if you have signed up for the money market option. No minimum, no fees, dividends paid monthly on the average monthly balance. Not FDIC insured, but it is covered by separate insurance policies taken out by EBay.
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I use EmigrantDirect and am quite satisfied, although they do kind of make it difficult to set up checking links sometimes (i.e. your name has changed and doesn't match the check)
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One vote for ING Direct. They seldom have the absolute best rates, but the service is very good and the money is easily accessible. You just set up a transfer to your checking account and can set up automatic drafts or manual transfers easily in a moment or two. I've used 'em for years, my money's accessible with a couple days notice, very convenient, competitive rates, with no hassles.
I don't see enough of a difference in rates to justify switching from ING. It's true that they have been slow to transfer in the past, but yesterday I requested a transfer and today it had already gone through.
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@hellinmyeyes: I think most people are lured in by the referral bonus. Though, I believe they stick with ING because of the quality and dependability of the service they provide.
At least, that's why I'm still using them.
@petrarch1608: My thoughts exactly--what does race have to do with operating a bank or choosing to do business with them? A sign of the times, I suppose.
If the inflation rate is 4% your not really making much money in those terms. But I'm not discouraging anyone from participating in them, but just be aware that it's not relevant to the inflation rate.
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I think the OneUnited is just going off of the fact it is owned by black people, but still, that is a very strange marketing slogan.
I currently have most of my savings at AmTrust Direct. (www.amtrustdirect.com) When I opened the account in November, they offered me 5.25% APY for 90 days but it dropped to 4.5% something but now it has been at 3.25%.
They even have local brances in some places, mainly Ohio, but they have a place here in Palm Beach, FL where I live. I've had no problems with the bank at all! It should be on this list!
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I have both ING and One United, and I am actually a bit happier with One United. Their transfer speeds are *much* faster than ING, and I haven't paid a fee in the 18 months I've been using them.
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@petrarch1608: it means black people don't normally own banking companies... online. DUH, ;)
I personally just like to stick with non online banks i used HSBC but it's such a damn pain in the ass and there's always the threat of theft (that I've read all over the place).
I wouldn't suggest the Paypal deal non FDIC insured is like putting your money in a cardboard box on a boat.
@tricky69: And on top of that, don't forget you're paying income tax on all your earnings as well. If our politicians really wanted to help the middle class, they'd reduce the tax on interest income (at least up to a certain amount). Most middle class folks I know have the vast majority of investments in tax-advantaged accounts anyway (401k, IRA, etc).
Anyway, back to the topic at hand - my local credit union does 3.20% on their money market savings account, with a $250 minimum, and no shenanigans. Look around, you might be surprised what you can find close to home.
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For those who are AAA members, Discover Bank's rate is 3.09%, five basis points higher than the non-AAA member rate. You can find the link from the AAA website.
Paypal's MMA has fees at the end of the year, just a heads up (something like 1%?).
ING Direct is great when you first open it, since they often have some bonus upon opening there. In the past, I've opened an account just to get $25 in my account, wait after a certain period, pulled it out and repeat.
OneUnited reminds me of the same BS I read about Wright's church. It used to lead in the rates but I've honestly seen much better that are still FDIC insured.
I've been using igobanking.com now for about a year after learning about them on bankrate.com. They are consistently at or near the top for high-yield savings accounts, only require $1 to open and a $1 balance to avoid monthly fees and they compute your interest Daily and pay it out monthly. I just checked bankrate before writing this comment and they currently #2 in the rankings are 4 out of 5 stars for financial soundness. I can't say enough good things about them. Be forewarned, though, that when I opened my account they did a hard credit pull and also required a few extra steps such as mailing them a copy of my driver's license and a current utility bill. One other thing worth mentioning is that while their next day ACH transfers are free, you will need to have at least $750 in your account to perform a next-day transfer. Otherwise, it can take up to four business days for a transfer to go through.
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@gregcuc: They are always forgotten! But always high! I use them. They're great! wow that sounded like tony the tiger.
The thing about FDIC is that it insures your money in the event that the company has to liquidate. I'm not saying that's impossible with Paypal/Ebay, but just putting it in perspective.
Trusting PayPal with your money is downright foolish. They can arbitrarily freeze your funds without explanation and with no recourse. At least with a bank, when they screw up, you have the law on your side.
can anyone tell me what the first jew owned online bank is? Cause I want to put my money with someone i can trust
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I have to agree with the positive comments about ING Direct. I've been using them for about 4 years now and have had no problems. They got my business to start with when I heard about their strictly opt-in marketing policy (a rarity), and since then despite trying out a couple competitors I've kept my money with ING due to better service and a better feeling of security as well. I saw a couple mentions of slow transfers in the comments above ... personally they have always seemed right about normal for speed of transfers, but I've never done a withdrawal without it being planned well in advance, so I'm not sure if I'd feel the same way if I was anxiously waiting for a transfer.
Am I missing something? I get 4.0% at countrywide online savings.
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Comment on Latest And Best Online Savings Accounts Rates Provident Direct - 3.75%.
http://www.provident-direct.com/
Online branch of the provident bank of maryland (big baltimore area
bank). I've had the account for a few months now. Service is good,
rate can't be beat. Free next-day ACH transfers.
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@BigBoat: \"Now we need people coming in here with reviews of those banks.\"
Check bankrate.com. Personally, I'd avoid any bank that doesn't get at least four stars from them.
Sometimes, high interest rates on CDs/savings/checking indicates a bank that is desperate to attract capital.
@ReidWings: Yeah, but who would put their hard earned money into any institution associated with Countrywide Financial. Will the Countrywide bank end up being owned by BofA too?
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ING FTW (I cannot remember how long, but many years now). I have never seen anything easier. Especially with the new Electric Orange to do bill pay - every 2 weeks when I goto pay the bills, I have them xfer the money instantaneously from my market savings to the checking and then I dole it out from there. I also like how the CD can mature and be transferred upon completion to another bank. That was very useful before Electric Orange - buy washer/dryer at Home Depot at 0% for 12 months, go home, move $$$ into 12 month CD, name it \"Washer/Dryer\" and have it deposited at credit union on completion. Repeat with fridge. ;)
I also have HSBC and their web site is pretty weak. And as for the OneUnited - I wouldn't go with them because they make a big deal about it. I don't care who you are except if you're gonna make a big deal about it, so will I. Inserting useless attributes like race is not the way to build \"One Community\" (their term, not mine). Kind of like it annoys me when I see Jesus fish on ads in the Yellow Pages. OK, you have a religion, good for you, why should I care?
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@tricky69: The rate isn't better than inflation, but since it's generally advisable to have a highly-liquid emergency fund, there's no point keeping that money in a checking account at 0% or 0.9%.
Tomorrow, the rate on E-Trade Complete Savings is supposed to go to 3.15% from 3.01%.
GMAC Bank is 3.00%, I've had them for years, no problems and very easy to deal with. Quick transfers too.
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Interestingly enough E-Trade's max rate checking rate is higher than there complete savings (and has been since they dropped the savings rate to 3%). Max rate checking is at 3.25% but you have to keep at least 5k in it.
I've said it on consumerist probably 3 or 4 times now but I love having my accounts there. I am always surprised when I hear people say they had issues...
@GearheadGeek: Well I definitely agree, and that's why I'm not discouraging anyone from doing it; a little extra money is better then none. But I think people should know that the interest rates are worse then the inflation rate, and thus aren't really making more on their dollar then is possible.
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ING Direct was a shade under 5% when I opened my account last fall. Damn you, capital markets and your illquidity.
ING FTW
never had a problem that was not resolved.
even went out the way to help.
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Is it REALLY worth starting up another account or transferring your money for a quarter of a percent? Or even a whole 1 percentage difference?
Is the difference between 2.70% & 3.6 really worth it?
@forgottenpassword: For most people, probably not (and that nest egg should be in an IRA or otherwise invested anyway), but I don't think this post is meant for people who already have high(ish)-yield savings accounts.
State farm bank is now running a 9 month CD special for 3.05%. I have always been satisfied with their service.
[www.statefarm.com]
@bkpatt: If thats true, thats awesome for me. From general observations it seems that fed interest rates are somewhat linked to the saving interest rates. Since, fed recently cut interest rates again, I wonder how these rates will last. Although, so banks have been able to keep interest rates level now like FBNO.
Fyi, with the Etrade account., if you open their max rate checking account as well and meet a requirement of what I think is a $5k balance or direct deposit over $250, you get reimbursed for any atm fees.
As far as Provident Direct, their customer service reps are idiots. When opening my accounts I had to call them in regard to a few issues and the reps know nothing. They will make you call another number or claim to call you back. You are much better using their e-care form on their site. Also like most banks, Provident Bank was in the MD/DC news about mortgage troubles.
I think ING's transfers are about 3 days. I honestly forgot but maybe it was the transfer was next day, but you had to wait a few days before being able to access the funds.
I didn't see this mentioned, but Alliant Credit Union is offering 4% with a min of $100.
@Orv: Thanks for the heads up on ING.
I also think Capital One Savings and High Yield MMA should be added to that list. The MMA currently has an APY of about 3.05% I believe and since interest rates can't really go much lower I's say it is a good investment, and the website has great usability and you can find a lot of information on their website.
I use FNBO. I had a couple problems with them right at the beginning. They were updating their site when I applied for the account which caused two problems. First issue was that their email didn't tell me how to complete account creation. Second was the site had messed up my security questions which caused the answers to match to the wrong question. No, my first girlfriend was not \"The Mets\"*
But I called them up each time, and after a short phone tree was immediately connected to a live person. People on the phone were really nice and had everything working within a minute.
Only other tiny issue I had with them is that they tell you they will never ask you via e-mail for any sort of account information. But when you try and make your first deposit from your account from another bank, they ask you to fax a voided copy of check from that account. I understand WHY they do it, but they didn't make me aware that they were going to ask for it. They also didn't send any confirmation they had received it. But that's all a very minor issue.
Those small issues aside, they've been great. Simple to use and account transfers are painless. I like not having to worry about keeping a minimum balance.
*not the actual team I had used.
M&T Bank has a 3.25% e-money market account.
ING can munch my dingleberries.
ING has the issue of having the arse-backwards \"feature\" that you can't change your ATM card pin without calling them. I gave the lady a piece of me mind when this last happened. Fortunately, I still have another US checking account open.
I would like to suggest a review of credit union checking account rates. Some credit unions seem to me to have amazing rates. Almost everyone can join these now. The only downside i see is there are some hoops to jump through but for up to 2% better than these savings accounts i think it is worth it. [www.fusionchecking.org]
5.5% for up to 30,000 and [www.oregoncommunitycu.org]
offers 4.5% and both refund all the atm fees.
Now we need people coming in here with reviews of those banks.
For example, I've been pleased with the ease of use and service with ING Direct. On the flip side, I would rather keep my cash in the bottom of a mattress in the fireworks factory than deal with E*Trade again.