Bank5 Connect
Related Posts
1/23 - 24 Month Add On CD
7/22 - Bank5 Connect's 24-Month Investment CD (Add-On) Remains Competitive
7/16 - Bank5 Connect Increased Savings Account Rate To 2.05% APY
7/13 - Bank5 Connect 12-Month CD Rate Leaps Up
7/12 - Bank5 Connect 12-Month CD - 2.55% APY With Full Deposit Insurance
7/12 - Bank5 Connect 2.55% APY 12-Month CD Special
4/26 - Bank5 Connect 24-Month CD Has Unlimited Deposits
10/14/17 - Bank5 Connect Adds Nationally Available 18-month Special Rate CD
11/9/14 - Bank5 Connect Does Not Show Up In 'Compare Personal Checking Accounts' Search
10/30/13 - Bank5 Connect’s Special Rate on Its 2-Year Add-On CD
10/10/13 - Bank5 Connect Offers a 6-Month CD Special with a Top Rate
9/13/13 - Bank5 Connect Raises Its Online Checking Account Rate
9/4/13 - Launching of a New Internet Bank - My Interview with a Bank5 Connect Manager
8/10/13 - Has Anyone Has Experience With This Bank Yet?
8/2/13 - New Internet Bank with Savings, Checking and CD Accounts - Bank5 Connect
Bunch Of Whiners On Here
Reading through these reviews I see a common theme: a bunch of people whining that they weren't able to open an account. C'mon people, it's an ONLINE BANK. They don't know you like your local bank knows you. Of course they have to go through stricter ID verification to open an account. And for those whiners saying "oh I have such great credit, why did they deny me?!?", NEWS FLASH. Your credit score doesn't determine whehter you can open a bank account. Banks use reports like Telecheck, Chexsystems, or EWS. You could have an 800 credit score, but if you wrote a bad check when you were 18, or left a negative balance at another bank, you're not going to pass the app. Stop saying it's the bank's fault you didn't pass and get to the bottom of WHY there's an issue with your report. I was a little worried when I saw all these terrible reviews, but then I did my homework and saw that they have hundreds of reviews on other sites from actual customers, which hold more weight than disgruntled peopled who couldn't pass the app. Anyway, glad I gave them a try. Great rates, and no issues yet!
Beneficary Restriction
I opened a 36 months CD in July 2019. The process was okay, just has trouble with the personal questions for verification, as I am listed with one of my daughters and she moved a lot. Once the account was opened and funded (I choose the mini deposits route), had to wait for snail mail before I could create a logon account. A week after opening, finally the CD # and logon information came. After creating the logon account, I attempted to assign beneficiaries. I was told by phone, only one beneficiary PER ACCOUNT! It is a Massachusetts thing for all banks! I had to send an online secure mail requesting the beneficiary form, which I received by secure email. I decided to open another equivalent 36 months CD (interest rate had dropped from 2.90% to 2.75% by then) so that the other daughter would be beneficiary of said CD. This time I choose the "quicker" way (you had to give the userid and password to the funding bank account - I changed it after the funding was complete. Still took as long as the slower way. If you are expecting to name more than one beneficiary to the CD, be prepared to open multiple CDs for each one. I am off to get the forms notarized to do either secure email or snail mail. Still going! I gave four stars because this is a first setback I encountered.
Account Application
At first I was very excited to see if the interest rates were for real and give this bank a trial run with a checking/savings accounts. When I applied I had the same problem as a few other people that are commenting here. I was denied for applicant authentication issues. I knew this was a problem before applying, because I did my research. So I made it a priority to make sure everything was accurate when applying. They asked me if I wanted to re-apply, but for now I'm just annoyed. It shouldn't be this difficult to open an account so unfortunately I will not be trying this bank out. In my experience, If there are issues from the beginning, there will be issues in other areas.
Thanks
Thinking Bank5? Think Twice
I've had a bank5 connect checking account for a while and i would not recommend it, here is why, but let's talk about the pros first:
Decent interest rate (not the best)
ATM fees reimbursement (up to $15)
Now the cons:
It took forever to open a checking account, they denied my application at first and required more documents for no reason, so i had to re-apply and it took about 4 weeks (that was in 2015, their process might have changed now)
Limited support, their customer service is only available during business hours, so if your card is stolen or you need to increase your daily limit or contact them for any other issues outside of business hours, you are screwed.
Their website and mobile app lacks features and not easy to navigate.
Mediocre processes and practices- in 2017 i tried to use my debit card to make a purchase and it was declined, i call customer service (luckily it happened during business hours) and i was told my card has been canceled and they already sent a letter and a replacement card which i never received and that if i want a new one i have to pay a $70 fedex overnight delivery fee, i refused to pay and asked to be transferred to a manager, and he finally waived the fees, but still very inconvenient and such a pain. Also not too long ago, they changed their banking platform and all customer settings were reset, including debit transactions notifications.
They use a third party fraud detection company which royally sucks (I work in InfoSec), their fraud detection algorithm is bullshit, they would sometime suspend my debit card just because i made a transaction of ~1$ at CVS so you have to call them and go through the stupid automatic recording and sometimes get transferred to an agent (last time i had one ask for my social security, wtf?).
Now this was my ultimate nightmare, i purchased a condo in May 2019 and i had to wire-transfer my down payment to the title company, so i log in to initiate the transfer and i couldn't find the option, i picked up the phone and called customer service and boom i was told that they don't offer wire-transfer services!!! what kind of bank doesn't offer wire-transfer services in 2019? the agent suggested he mail me a certified check because it has worked for other customers, which he did and i ended up paying $70 for fedex overnight delivery, only to find out that my state law doesn't allow title companies to accept checks more than $50k. So bank5 screwed my closing day twice. I finally figured it out and closed but it was a nightmare. A NIGHTMARE.
Well i can name a few more cons but that should make you think twice if you are thinking about opening a bank5 connect checking account, because this bank is a joke.
Health Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 23286 |
| Year Established | 1855 |
| Employees | 208 |
| Primary Regulator | FED |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.72% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 8.74% |
| Annual Interest Income | $39.8MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $1.22B$1.07B |
| Loans | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $923.5MM$838.0MM |
| Deposits | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $1.09B$918.3MM |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $99.0MM$91.1MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $7.0MM$6.0MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $2.1MM$1.8MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $0$0 |