Review of Citibank on Campus
Written: Jul 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Hey, when it comes to banks, the bigger the better
Cons: Lack of actual branch on the campus/ ATM does not take deposits
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| codefire's Full Review: Citibank |
This is strictly a review of the Citibank on Campus product offered by Citibank in various colleges around the United States. The product is not offered by the bank at its branch locations.
The way this account works is that one opens a checking account, and once that is done, they can disburse the funds to a savings account, a CD, etc., as they see fit. The checking account is however the primary account. It costs $3 per month, unless one maintains an average balance of $1500 , or arranges for the direct deposit of their paychecks into the account. If either of these are done, then the fee is waived. Also, and this is only true of people living in the New York Metro area as far as I know, the parents of the student opening the account have the option to add a houseold link, where the the Citibank on campus account is linked to their existing Citibank accounts back home. This way, they can also waive the $3 fee, if the average balance of all the accounts exceed $1500. And no, students will not have access to the other linked accounts in any fashion.
Once the account is opened, one gets unlimited usage of Citibank ATM's, unlimited check writing, on-line banking, Citiphone banking, 24/7 customer service, and finally, electronic bill paying. For $3/month, that is pretty good, especially in a state like New York, where banks tend to have relatively high monthly charges. Heck, only one bank in Albany actually has free checking.
Now for the bad news. I am currently working for Citibank on the SUNY at Albany campus promoting this account. One of the problems parents have with this account is if they come from areas that do not have a Citibank near them. In that case, the only way to do deposits is via the mail. If a student gets a birthday check from Granny, and they live in a place like Albany, NY, where the only place to cash a personal check is at your bank, they will have to mail it in. And no, the student cannot make an ATM deposit at the school. Citibank decided to not expend the resources in putting some sort of a mini-branch on the campuses where they are offering this account. So they simply do not have the people who could pick up the deposits from the ATM every morning and send them in.
The other bad news is that customer service seems to be a bit screwy. After hearing some bad news about it, my supervisor had me call them to test them out. I simply asked for the pricing on the account, and they had no idea what I was talking about. Apparently, the heat for all this has fallen on my supervisor's boss back in New York City, and she is having to fly down to San Antonio to train the customer service people. So hopefully, by the time that school starts in the fall, this particular problem will be taken care of.
Overall, I would say this is a great product for students whose parents have a Citibank near them, or people who have the stomach and patience to do their deposits via the mail. I am not going to do it, even though my job is to promote the account. I like to do my banking the old-fashioned way; going into a bank and harassing the under-paid tellers.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
codefire
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Location: Albany, NY
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 2 members
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