Good review. I've considered opening an account with them; no exchange fee & foreign bank ATM rebates makes this account highly appealing to me. I was disappointed to learn their credit cards aren't integrated into the online banking experience. I was also disappointed to learn that their 'first free order' of checks is only 50. (And while I prefer not to write checks, not everybody prefers not to receive them. Our mortgage company, doctor, orthodontist, etc. prefer checks. And I prefer to pay utility men that don't accept credit with checks.)
Well... 50 physical paper checks seems like plenty for me. The online bill pay service will actually *mail* physical checks drawn on your account to whoever you want, so if you know you're going to write checks on a regular schedule, or ahead of time, you don't have to actually pull out your checkbook :)
As for credit card integration... you can see your CC balance and payment info from the online banking login, but to do much more than that you have to enter another username and password. Not the end of the world, but it could be better-integrated.
I have questions about online bill pay (which appears to be powered by CheckFree):
- How late can I schedule a payment? For example, if a bill is due on the 15th can I schedule a payment as late as the afternoon of the 14th (assume one-day delivery and both dates are midweek).
- When are the funds deducted from my account? In the above scenario, assume the payment must be scheduled by the 13th. Are the funds deducted on the 13th or the 15th?
Thanks for any input.
Hmmm... how can you tell that it's powered by CheckFree?
If they mail a paper check, it's processed like a paper check (not deducted until it's cleared by the recipient's bank). If electronic, it'll be withdrawn on the payment date scheduled. This is what the online banking site says about payment timing:
The Payment Date is the date the payment is to be received by the payee. The lead time for scheduling a payment is based on factors such as the amount of the payment and whether the payment will be processed electronically or as a mailed check. This lead time is displayed as the Delivery Time located under the Show Details link for each payee. - If a payment meets the criteria, the delivery time will be 2 days and the funds will be withdrawn from your account on the Payment Date you enter. If you schedule the payment before the daily cutoff time, the payment will be made the next business day.
- Payments that do not meet the 2 day criteria will require a 4 day delivery time. These payments may be withdrawn from your account on the Payment Date you entered, or in the case of laser draft (a check that is drawn on your account, much like a check that you would write yourself), the payment will clear your account when the payee presents the item for payment.
Payments scheduled on a weekend or bank holiday may be paid to your payee (and debited from your account) the business day before the weekend or bank holiday date to ensure that the payment reaches the payee on time.
So basically... they need up to 4 day lead time for paper checks, but 2 is closer to reality in my experience.
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