First Internet Bank is the 256th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1998 and as of December of 2024, it had grown to 327 employees. First Internet Bank's money market rates are 10X the national average, and it has an A health rating.
7 Year Customer
I've had all good experiences with First Internet. One note, I get tired of idiotic reviews...if an institution cannot verify you to open an account, your credit score is irrelevant! And....those of us who want a rating on a bank, want to know if they handled money properly and followed their word. Customer service comes in there as well. But your difficulties being verified....is a personal problem...no matter how great your credit is. So don't be an idiot...post stuff that others want to know, not stuff only you mommy cares about.
Save Yourself The Headache!
I created an account today, which required funding the account with an initial deposit of $25.00. I funded the account using another checking account that I own. Once set up, I received a Zelle payment $740 and it arrived in my account just fine. This was a commission payment to me, which I turned around and used to pay my rent (also through Zelle). Everything seemed to work fine, and all was good.
Five minutes later, I received an email from First Internet Bank stating that my account application hadn't been approved. No reason for the denial, and no option was provided to contest their decision. What could have possibly kept me from opening up an "internet" bank account? I have a 633 credit score (not great, but not terrible), I've lived in the U.S. for my entire life, I have my own tutoring business, and I haven't opened a bank account in over 10 years. This makes no sense, and seems a bit suspicious. Why wait until I deposit over $765 to deny my application?
To make matters worse, the (rude) customer support person that I spoke to said they would be sending my funds back through Zelle. What!? This means, they're sending MY money to someone else. I don't have another Zelle account, so it's going to someone I worked for. How embarrassing! Zelle was the entire reason why I created an account with FIB in the first place.
My recommendation? Save yourself the trouble, and avoid this bank at all costs. That's what I wish I had done.
Unprofessional And Shady
I know it is legit bank, however, the application process of new CD accounts seems to tell a different story. During the process, I was asked some basic questions to verify my identity, which is understandable, as well as uploaded my ID and use my camera to take a selfie, which is beyond necessary in my opinion. So when I was asked to provide my fund information (bank account number), I thought I was already in the process of transferring the money to this new CD account. I moved my money from an interest-earning savings account to my checking account so the money will come through. To my surprise, the next day, I received a denial email. It is a template they use to send to everyone. They did not include any information to explain why my application was denied. I have a perfect over 800 credit score so that's not the reason. They use "Our decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the consumer reporting agencies listed below." as the reason which is too vague. If it wasn't for this non-sense letter, I would have pursued and reached out to them to get further information. As a potential customer, I provided all the information you requested and entrusted you with my personal data, yet you didn't bother to give one or two sentences explanation that is just for me. "Copy and paste" is the worse you can do when it comes to customer services, especially for an online bank.
CD Application Denied
My credit score is over 800, yet I was denied to open a CD account! What a waste of my time.
Processes That Make No Sense
Was denied on my application to open a CD. I checked the agencies they said they received consumer information from and did not see anything of concern. FirstIB would not provide reason why denied; just said to reapply. Makes no sense. What a waste of time. Plenty of other banks out there that will take my money.
Unprofessional Account Opening Process
I tried to open a commercial checking account for one of my LLCs. It has been around for several years, is in good standing and has lots of cash in the operating account.
I did th online application, heard nothing for 5 days and then got a rejection email with no information on why the application was rejected. The note said to call them if I wanted more information. I called and they had nothing.
Horrible customer services and just gives me a vibe that they are a 3rd rate operation.
I Filed A Complaint With The CFPB
I'm over 50 and have perfect credit. I applied for a one-year CD on 1/25/2023. Almost immediately, I got back a response that was extremely vague, denying my application (to deposit a significant amount of money). There was no reason cited, except "Our decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the
consumer reporting agencies listed below." 4 agencies were listed. I have a good credit report with all of them. I called, and although the guy was not rude, neither was he helpful. Looking for the reason, without knowing what the reason is, is like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Applying was a fair amount of trouble, requiring making copies of my and my wife's driver's licenses, etc. Steam is coming out of my ears.
This Bank Is Awful!!! Stay Away At All Costs!
This bank is absolute garbage! They pre-approved us for a loan and then after dragging their feet for 8 weeks, they came back and said "we're sorry for pre-approving you for the loan, we didn't know how to admit the fact that we couldn't provide the original terms that we pre-approve you at, would it be possible for us to change the original terms of the agreement?" It's the most unprofessional experience we've had with a bank (and trust me we use many loans for our transactions). Would highly recommend anyone stay away from them and not even waste their time, there are so many more reliable banks out there that it's not even worth the headache.
Data as of Q4 2024
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 34607 |
| Year Established | 1998 |
| Employees | 327 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.58% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 7.03% |
| Annual Interest Income | $291.9MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $5.72B$5.15B |
| Loans | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $4.18B$3.82B |
| Deposits | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $4.95B$4.08B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $458MM$444.2MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $44.8MM$38.8MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $20.3MM$7MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $272K$375K |