Presidential Online Bank

Presidential Bank -- Go-To Bank For The Long Haul
- leef - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 2:24 PM

I wanted to draw attention to a bank that has treated me well for nearly twenty years -- Presidential Bank. They have long offered a Checking PLUS account with a consistently decent interest rate (currently 1%) for the first $25K on deposit (requires direct deposit and $1000 minimum balance to avoid fees).  Don't be dissuaded by their website design, which has changed little since the advent of the internet; behind the unpromising facade is a bank with solid online features and impeccable customer service.  One downside is that they only have ATMs in the MD/DC area; though they charge no fees for outside ATM usage, neither do they refund the fees that other banks charge.  If you can work around that, the account offers just about everything you might need in a basic checking account, from the ability to write paper checks to online ACH transfers.   Overall, a steady, reliable account that has served me well over the years. 

Downhill!!!! Used To Be Good -- Now Fee Happy
- Bruce20891 - Monday, September 24, 2012 - 5:44 PM

I have banked at a Maryland branch for decades. Service was always great. Over the past couple years (as they became more of an online bank), their service has gone down hill. They are much more apt to charge nuisance fees.

Aside from the monthly account fee, they recently hit me up with an insufficient funds fee for an automatic bill pay I was unaware of. Because banks automatically retry transactions several times, they charged this fee 3 times (on the same ISF incident). The associated fees caused another payment to bounce, so they charged me more fees.

They refused to reverse ANY of these fees because they ONCE refunded a fee in my previous 20 years as a customer. My loyalty counted for absolutely nothing.