Citibank Online- Easy to Use and Reliable
Written: Dec 09 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to navigate
Cons: None
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| levda's Full Review: Citibank |
I have been using Citibank for about 2.5 years, since I graduated from college. I couldn't very well have a bank in Bloomington, IN and an address in Chicago, IL so it was time to graduate from the IU Credit Union (a very nice bank, by the way). Since there was a Citibank across the street from both my home and office (neither one of which is still true), I decided to start an account there.
I signed up for basic checking and a money market checking account, which I use as my savings account. I pay no fees, as some agreement that Citibank had with my former employer. Since I left that employer, this hasn't changed. I suggest checking if your employer has such a deal.
One of the things that I definitely wanted was online bill payment. At the time, Citibank had a program called Direct Access. I found Direct Access to be very user-friendly. This has been upgraded recently to Citibank Online, accessible at www.citibankonline.com. That will be what I focus my review on...
What you need to start
All you need is your Citicard (ATM card) and PIN. (Don't you just hate it when people say PIN Number? Personal Identification Number Number. But I digres...) Go to the website and enter a username, your Citicard number and your pin. The site is completely secure. You then agree to the user agreement, blah blah blah, and you're ready to go.
Features
Across the top of the screen are six sections. These are:
Home:
This is the overview page, from which you can reach most features of Citibank Online.
Your Accounts:
This is where you will be spending most of your time. There are four subsections of this page:
Account Information From here you can view the balances and transactions of all accounts that you have. You can link in any Citibank credit card that you have as well. You can download this information into Quicken or Microsoft Money.
Payments and Transfers This is a very useful section. You can set up payees for all of your bills. For example, I have all credit cards, utilities, and other bills that I need to pay set up. Some merchants have arrangements with Citibank that allows you to wire money to them in only a couple of days, while others are mailed a check. You simply enter the address and your account number and a check is mailed.
You can set up recurring payments for those bills you know will be the same each month. For example, I have my mortgage set up to be paid on the 20th of each month. That way I will never forget to pay it! For bills that are differing amounts each month, I simply make a new payment each time. One caveat, the funds are withdrawn from your account when the payment is made, not when the funds are received on the other end.
You can transfer money between accounts. If you link up a credit card to the account, you can transfer money to the card instantly. This is very convenient for paying your card off. I transfer money as soon as I get my expense reimbursement, for example. You can also set up a recurring transfer. This will help you save money in a disciplined way. You can hve $x transferred each month automatically into savings.
Investment Services You can sign up for brokerage services through Citibank. I do not use this service, so I am not qualified to make any judgements!
Customer Service You can change your address, order new checks, or make inquiries in this section. It is very convenient.
You can see that managing your account is quite simple.
Planning and Tools
This section helps you to plan your finances. It includes tools such as: Financial Calculators, Mutual Fund Evaluation, Portfolio Tracker and more.
Quotes and Research
This section is as it sounds, a place to do stock market research. It includes stock charts, headlines, and everything you want to research a stock!
Products and Services
This is a resource to research the different offerings that Citibank has. It wouldn't be a web site without advertising, right?
Help Desk
Here you find a FAQ, a link to Customer Service, and other means to answer all of your banking questions.
Citibank Online is a one-stop shop for all of your basic banking needs. I would highly recommend it to anyone whose needs are simple: bill payment, account information, etc. Obviously, you will need to visit a branch to deposit and withdraw money, but for everything I need, this is a great resource.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
levda
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Member: Dana
Location: Chicago IL
Reviews written: 95
Trusted by: 72 members
About Me:
"CPAs are not boring. We just get excited over boring things."
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