Inexpensive, but difficult to access your money...
Written: Feb 12 '06
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Pros: Very low fees and high returns on CD investments
Cons: Difficult to access your cash
The Bottom Line: This is a good bank for somebody that is really cheap. Beyond that, they are difficult enough to not be worth it to most people.
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| tgregoryt's Full Review: NetBank |
So a while back I was a member at Marketplace Bank. I always thought that it was too good to be true, and indeed, it was - that bank soon failed. Still I liked the idea of no fees and no minimum balance, so I went with another internet bank – NetBank. I have found their service to be decent but not great. The main problem is that they are solely on the internet, which means that it is somewhat inconvenient to withdraw and deposit funds. This is a significant enough inconvenience that I have considered many times to move my account elsewhere. I give NetBank 3 stars – although they are cheaper and give better rates then normal banks, they are rather inconvenient at the same time.
Problems
Let me start with the first problem of NetBank – it is internet based so you can only get your money at ATMs. Used to be a time in Florida when every ATM at Publix (a local grocery store) was free. Not anymore – now it seems like every ATM you go to has a fee associated with it. While NetBank does not charge fees for any ATM worldwide, the ATM owner generally does.
NetBank lists 5 ATMs in the Greater Orlando Area that are free. That’s a long ways to drive to save a dollar. So if you need money, you have two choices: 1) pay the ATM fee, or 2) get cash back whenever you purchase anything using your debit card. Wal-mart gives back up to $200, I believe, meaning that buying a stick of gum at Wal-Mart is pretty much the same as using an ATM.
So that solves the withdrawal problem. As for the deposit problem – well, you can generally deposit any funds into most credit union ATMs. The credit union then sends these funds to NetBank. This means that if you deposit funds today, you won’t see them for at least 24 hours and sometimes longer then that. There are, however, plenty of places in Greater Orlando from which I can deposit funds.
Generally, however, I use the direct deposit feature common in most banks. This is one reason I don’t feel like changing my account: there are so many places I’d have to contact to cancel automatic withdrawals and deposits that it would be a serious challenge.
As for the remainder of the services: I once had an address in South Orlando. It took me two years to get the address changed to my new address in Winter Garden. I suppose this wasn’t so much of a problem as my parents were available at the other address to accept my mail. Still, it seemed like every time I called the answer was, “Oh yes, the computer says you have moved. Let me check into this”. Well, they’d make some sort of switch in the computer, wait a quarter, and then I had to call them back. Eventually they got the problem fixed, however.
Best features
Clearly the best feature of this bank is that they have no branches, so they don’t have branch overhead fees. They don’t have to pay rent on some building you will probably never visit, and they don’t have to pay salaries to people you will probably never talk to. This means that NetBank has no fees whatsoever. There are no ATM fees (although the ATM owners will charge you fees), no account inactivity fees, no check-writing fees, there are simply no fees. Even their free checking account has no minimum balance.
In addition on your free checking account they will give you a slight – and partially unnoticeable – interest rate. Currently it is 0.75%. This isn’t so much, but it is definitely better then the negative $3/month Walkalloverya will charge. Also you should note that they do charge a standard check-bouncing fee of $25 or so, but I can’t imagine any bank not charging that particular fee.
Other banking features that are indifferent to me
As for the internet interface, it is the same as any other bank I have used. It is quick, simple and easy to follow. You can pay your bills there or transfer funds as you see fit. Personally I very rarely use the internet portion of the bank – generally I use the phone number. Believe it or not, this telephone number has 24/7 service – how’s that for banker’s hours? I can’t think of any time that I have had a problem that they couldn’t solve through this telephone number.
In other portions of the bank, Netbank does not offer savings accounts. Instead they have money market accounts which pay as well or better then your local bank’s CDs. However these money-market accounts have a minimum balance of $500 and significant fees if you fall below that minimum balance. You also only get 6 withdrawals per month without getting another large fee.
As for other savings plans, NetBank does not have their own seat on New York Stock Exchange like E*trade, but they do partner with uVest. I have never tried this service, either, so I couldn’t tell you how good it is. I believe that moving money back and forth to uVest will be free as well.
CD’s are also offered in terms of six months to one year. The return on these is currently about twice the national average. It seems like every time I look in Barron’s, NetBank is listed among the higher rates of return. I believe that it is their policy to attract more CD holders then checking account holders, since CDs are so much easier to operate from an internet interface.
Netbank also offers standard loans – home, car, and the like. I have never even applied for these services but they are likely competitive with other banks. Before you get a mortgage, you might check with NetBank to see if they can beat your rate. Chances are pretty good that they can, since they have no branches to pay for.
summary
In general my main problem with this bank is that they are inaccessible and difficult to get cash from. However they are among the cheapest banks out there – even going so far as to give you a small rate of return on your no-minimum-balance checking account. Overall, the positive and negatives in internet banking average out for me. I give NetBank 3 stars – five for being cheap, minus 2 for having difficult access.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tgregoryt
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Member: Thomas Gregory
Location: Winter Garden, FL
Reviews written: 249
Trusted by: 8 members
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