Are you ready for an Internet bank? Part 2 - Checking accounts
Jun 14 '00
There are many Internet-only banks to choose from that offer a varying menu of services. I previously did a general comparison of traditional and Internet banks and provided a quick guide to choosing an online bank. Here, I’d like to provide a more specific comparison of some of the more well-known Internet-only banks. There’s no way I can compare every single bank so I’m just trying to hit the main ones to give you a good idea of what you can expect.
The bank you choose depends on what features you’re looking for. This comparison will show the differences of checking accounts only and a separate review will compare savings/money market accounts. A lot of the banks may have additional services as well, such as brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, credit cards, personal loans, etc. that you may want to explore.
The online banks included in this comparison are CompuBank (recommended 74% of the time by Epinions members with 33 reviews written), NetBank (recommended 78% of the time with 47 reviews), Security First Network Bank (SFNB) (recommended 74% of the time with 27 reviews), USA Bancshares (recommended 50% of the time with 11 reviews), Wingspan Bank (recommended 69% of the time with 46 reviews), and X.com (recommended 90% of the time with 458 reviews). (See below for web site URLs.)
Generally, only the minimum opening balance, monthly service charge and interest rate will be different between a bank’s “basic” checking account and their “interest” checking account, so only those three categories are broken out between the two types of accounts. If there are other differences in a particular service, they’ll be noted within the description (such as SFNB’s ATM fee rebates).
This is a very long review, I hope someone finds it useful!
(Services, descriptions, rates and fees are accurate as of June 14, 2000 but may change at any time.)
Minimum opening balance
• Basic checking:
CompuBank - $100
NetBank - $50
SFNB - $100
USA - no basic checking account
Wingspan - no basic checking account
X.com - no basic checking account
• Interest checking:
CompuBank - $1,000
NetBank - $50
SFNB - $100
USA - $1
Wingspan - $100
X.com - no minimum
Monthly service charge
• Basic checking:
CompuBank - none
NetBank - none
SFNB - none
USA - no basic checking account
Wingspan - no basic checking account
X.com - no basic checking account
• Interest checking:
CompuBank - $10 per month if balance is less than $1,000; no charge if balance is $1,000 or more
NetBank - $4.50 per statement cycle, regardless of balance
SFNB - none
USA - none
Wingspan - $7.50 per month if balance is less than $1,000; no charge if balance is $1,000 or more
X.com - none
Interest rate
• Basic checking:
CompuBank - none
NetBank - 3.00% rate / 3.05% annual percentage yield (APY) regardless of balance
SFNB - none
USA - no basic checking account
Wingspan - no basic checking account
X.com - no basic checking account
• Interest checking:
CompuBank - 4.00% / 4.07% APY regardless of balance
NetBank - 3.93% / 4.00% APY regardless of balance
SFNB - 0.50% / 0.50% APY for balances up to $1,000; 3.92% / 4.00% APY for balances over $1,000
USA - 4.89% / 5.00% APY regardless of balance
Wingspan - 0.50% / 0.50% APY for balances up to $2,500; 3.10% / 3.14% APY for balances between $2,500 and $10,000; 4.50% / 4.59% APY for balances over $10,000; currently running a special offering 10% interest through September 1, 2000 when you have a direct deposit payment set up and open your account by June 30, 2000
X.com - 0.99% / 1.00% APY for balances up to $1,000; 4.40% / 4.50% APY for balances over $1,000
Checks
CompuBank - first order free, price varies on reorders
NetBank - first order and reorders are free on standard checks
SFNB - first order free, price varies on reorders
USA - first order free, price varies on reorders
Wingspan - price varies
X.com - first order of 50 free, price varies on reorders
ATM/check card
CompuBank - no ATM fees; up to 4 ATM surcharges (charged by bank whose ATM you use) up to $1.50 each rebated per month; Visa check card available to those who qualify; free replacement Visa check card
NetBank - no ATM fees; no ATM surcharges rebated but has a network of free ATMs in various states; Visa check card available; $10 for replacement ATM card
SFNB - 10 free non-SFNB ATM transactions per statement cycle and $1.00 after 10; up to 2 non-SFNB ATM fees up to $1.50 each rebated per month if account has average daily balance over $1,000 (up to 4 for interest checking account); Visa check card available; $3.00 for replacement ATM/debit card
USA - no ATM fees; up to 5 ATM surcharges up to $2.00 each rebated per month; check card available; $10 for replacement ATM/check card
Wingspan - no ATM fees; up to $5.00 in ATM surcharges rebated per month; $3.00 for replacement ATM/debit card
X.com - no ATM fees; up to $6.00 in ATM surcharges rebated per month; Visa check card available; $5.00 for replacement ATM/check card
Overdraft protection
CompuBank - made from another account in increments of $100; $1.00 fee per transfer
NetBank - made from a credit line in increments of $100; $5.00 fee per transfer
SFNB - made from another account in increments of $25; $5.00 fee per transfer
USA - $9.00 fee for transfer (no other information found)
Wingspan - made from a credit line; 19.99% interest charged on credit line use; 5 interest-free days available
X.com - made from a credit line (if approved; currently unavailable for new accounts); 9.9% interest charged on credit line use
Online bill payment
CompuBank - free unlimited payments monthly
NetBank - free unlimited payments monthly
SFNB - 20 free payments per statement cycle, $0.50 for each payment over 20
USA - online bill payment available according to the web site’s demo but terms unknown
Wingspan - free unlimited payments monthly
X.com - apparently not offered, no information found
Cleared checks/statements
CompuBank - last 12 months of check images and last 12 months of statements can be viewed online
NetBank - last 90 days of account history can be viewed online; $5.00 for each paper copy of checks or statements
SFNB - last 90 days of cleared checks and statements can be viewed online, $3.00 for each paper copy of checks or statements older than 90 days
USA - $2.00 for each check or statement copy
Wingspan - $2.00 for each check copy (first 3 at no charge); $3.00 for duplicate statement
X.com - no statement sent automatically, can be viewed online, they send an e-mail to remind you to check it; $2.00 for each check copy (first 3 at no charge)
Web site
CompuBank - located at http://www.compubank.com; web site is relatively easy to move around in; demo is available
NetBank - located at http://www.netbank.com; web site is relatively easy to move around in; demo is available
SFNB - located at http://www.sfnb.com; web site is relatively easy to move around in; limited demo is available
USA - located at http://www.usabancshares.com; web site is clunky and slow loading; demo is available
Wingspan - located at http://wingspanbank.com; web site is relatively easy to move around in; demo is available
X.com - located at http://www.x.com; web site is relatively easy to move around in; no demo available
Miscellaneous
CompuBank - free direct deposit; free domestic wire transfers from account; free direct transfers or wire transfers to account from other financial institutions; stop payment fee is $20 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $20 each; deposited checks and others items returned unpaid fee is $7.50 each; founded in October 1998
NetBank - free direct deposit; free incoming wire transfers; $10 for outgoing wire transfers; stop payment fee is $25 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $25 each; deposited checks and other items returned unpaid fee is $15 each; founded in October 1996
SFNB - $20 for outgoing domestic wire transfers; free incoming wire transfers; stop payment fee is $25 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $25 each; mail-in deposit without deposit slip fee is $2.00 each; founded in October 1995, owned by Royal Bank of Canada since October 1998
USA - free incoming domestic wire transfers; $25 for outgoing domestic and incoming international wire transfers; $50 for outgoing international wire transfers; stop payment fee is $20 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $30 each; uncollected funds fee is $30 each; return deposit items fee is $5.00
Wingspan - stop payment fee is $18 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $25 each (except Virginia--$15, West Virginia--$20, Wisconsin--$22); division of First USA Bank, founded in mid-1999
X.com - free incoming domestic wire transfers; $15 for outgoing domestic wire transfers; stop payment fee is $25 each; non-sufficient funds fee is $25 each (except Virginia--$15, West Virginia--$20 and Wisconsin--$22); returned deposit item fee is $5.00 each; founded in March 1999
As you can see, each bank has different features, fees and quirks. I currently have or have previously had accounts at 4 of these banks (all except CompuBank and SFNB) and must say that I liked USA Bancshares the least, closely followed by Wingspan. I rarely use my X.com account because I’ve heard too many customer service horror stories about them recently (most of the reviews on Epinions were written in the early days of X.com and apparently things have gone downhill since). I like NetBank very much; although I’ve also heard customer service horror stories about them, I’ve never encountered any problems personally.
I mentioned in my earlier review that you should carefully research the online banks before choosing one and that advice still holds true. But I hope this rather lengthy review helps you see some of the options that are out there in the virtual banking world.
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Epinions.com ID:
slhansen
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Member: Steph ~
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 82
Trusted by: 82 members
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