I began using Woodforest when they opened a branch near me inside a Walmart Supercenter in Charlotte about 2 and half years ago.

Second Chance Checking sounded good to me since though my credit is not horrible, it is not perfect either. The monthly fee for this service is $9.95 or $5.95 if you sign up for direct deposit. This is not a bad deal and they are like a real bank. You get checks, registers, a Master Card debit card with unlimited transactions, secure online banking and better hours than any other bank. Their website was recently upgraded and you can now see pending activity, which is a big improvement over the old website.

Unfortunately the bank did not inform me at the time that they also had a $9.95 set up fee (in addition to the monthly service fee) and they gave me no paperwork regarding this, so I contacted customer service via email. They were very nice and said I should have received said paperwork, but when I explained to them I did not, they promptly refunded me the $9.95 and emailed a soft copy of their schedule of fees and also mailed me a hard copy of the schedule.

The Woodforest near me is open until at least 7pm Monday-Friday, until 6pm on Saturday and until 5pm on Sunday. They are also open on most holidays except for Christmas. If you make a deposit to Woodforest, these funds are available the very same day, sometimes immediately. They use the new Check 21 laws so that they can do this. The funds are even available the same day if you make a deposit on a weekend or holiday. My direct deposit is actually even available a day before everyone else's that I work with.

Customer service has always been very friendly at my branch and I have not a single problem since that first one.

The only negative with this bank is that near me, their only ATM's are located at their branches which are all inside Walmart. Since I live in Charlotte where Bank of America, Wachovia, and several other banks are headqaurtered, this is an inconvenience and occasionally costs me an extra couple of bucks. Woodforest charges $2 for withdrawals from other banks' ATM's, so this usually costs me at least $3. However, I am fortunate to have a credit union less than 1/4 mile from me which does not charge their own fee (I do have a savings account with this credit union which is helpful for things like loans). Since I have the Master Card debit card from Woodforest, I also will often get cash back from a pin-based transaction and not be charged a withdrawal fee or have to worry about getting to an ATM.

One of the girls working at a local fast food restaurant saw my card and said she banked with them and she liked them as well. So Woodforest has been pretty good to me.

Recommended: Yes