Impact Checking

I recently opened an account at this bank to take advantage of their Impact Checking.  The account pays 4.01% on the first 25k and 1.01% on amounts above if you meet the qualifications of 10 debit card transactions (signature or PIN based count), receive e-statements, and have either one direct deposit, one ACH automatic payment, or one Bill Pay. They refund ATM fees up to $25, there are unlimited check writing and no minimum balance. 

I opened the account in the Athens, GA branch.  Opening the account was easy and the branch personnel were very nice and helpful.  Debit cards and checks were slow to arrive, probably a full week to get the cards, another couple days for the PINs and another few days for the checks.  The good news is that you receive the qualifiying rate your first statement cycle so you don't have to worry about their slow cards/checks.  The other strange thing is how their statement cycles work.  Statements are generated on the third Wednesday of the month, so the qualifiying cycle runs from the thrid Wednesday to the third Wednesday of the next month.  (For a full list, see http://www.georgiabankandtrust.com/go/impact-checking-important-dates).  This can kind of be tricky if you are only paid monthly and in the middle of the month, as your direct deposit might fall in one cycle one month, and another cycle on another month.  For example, if you are paid on the 15th your check falls at the end of the cycle most months but would fall at the beginning of the September-October cycle. 

The other disappointment is that the bank has announced that they are closing the Athens branch in November.  The other branches are located in Augusta, GA so that is about a couple hours away.  Checks can be deposited by mail and ATM fees are refunded so I think this will be a minor inconvenience but I am sorry to see that our local staff will be losing their jobs.  They are all truly very nice people!  When I opened the account, they did mention that they don't expect to eliminate the Impact Checking or reduce the rate in the near future but who knows.  Still, for 4.01% I am very pleased and I hope to stay with them for a long time!