| 5 star: | (6) | |
| 4 star: | (5) | |
| 3 star: | (10) | |
| 2 star: | (1) | |
| 1 star: | (23) |
Opened an account no prob. The initial deposit seems to take forever to clear (nine business days is a long time if it includes two weekends). However any push deposits clear right away. So I'd recommend opening with the minimum $500 and pushing a larger deposit from an existing account.
Update: Well they dropped their rate so I'll drop some stars. I also have an account with Vio and while some of these banks flash a higher rate for about ten seconds, eventually they all drop lower than Vio. Also going to try Poppy, they have a 90 day rate guarantee while MBD dropped within a week.
I thought before I transfer a lot of money into this new account that I should check out the reviews. It's very disturbing to find all of these negative reviews on here. I didn't experience what others did in such a negative way. Yes, there are a lot of questions during the application process and you need to deposit $500 by linking your bank account during the application process, which is on hold for 9 days. Also, when I was doing research, I found out that interest compounds monthly rather than daily, but I'm okay with that because for my financial situation I'd rather have the high interest rate. I called before opening up the account to ask important questions and the customer service rep was excellent, she recommended that I open up a checking account to have easier access to my money. This will provide me with an ATM card and easier transfers, I can also order checks. She also confirmed that the interest rate will stay at the same rate for 5 months and in general it's been constant. Since I didn't have such a negative experience so far, I'm wondering if these reviews are not really painting the correct picture. It's important to be cautious of what these reviews say, but maybe it's not so bad if you call customer service before to find out how everything works so you are prepared for how long the money takes to transfer between accounts. She also told me about the maximum transfer amounts per day/per month which reflect what others are saying, and those are fine with me.
Do not open an account with this bank. They will hold your CASH for "nine business days" and you have absolutely no access to your own money. Shameful practice. Only done by thieves! move on and open an account with some other entity. There are plenty of ethical institutions around with decent returns!!
I recently opened a high yield savings account to get the highest interest available but also to be able to transfer money back and forth between this bank and my brokerage bank. Come to find out the banks will not sync unless I have a checking account as well so I opened one. All my other bank accounts allowed syncing with only a savings account. After calling, each bank blamed the other for the issue. Now when I want to transfer money to my brokerage I have to first transfer from my savings to my checking account then to the brokerage account. An extra unnecessary step but it is what it is. The make or break for me will be how long the funds take to get to my external accounts. My initial deposit took 9 business days to clear. Other transfers were faster. Next I will see how long it takes to withdraw.
I am hoping to help others be smarter than I was.
After reading horrible reviews I decided to move forward with opening a high yield savings account with My Banking Direct ("Flagstar") because they had the best interest rate.
The process to connect my external bank account to transfer funds from required many, many steps, which in this day and age I understand. However, something went terribly wrong and in the end Flagstar transferred money from my checking and my savings when I only wanted the money transferred from my savings. I absolutely did not trigger/request that money be transferred from my checking account. This erroneous transaction put my checking account in the negative.
When I called Flagstar the first time I was put on hold so the representative could 'check the backend' to see if she could figure out what had happened. After being on hold for 20 minutes I hung up and called back.
Ultimately another rep was able to cancel one of the transactions but none of it makes sense so I will have to sit and wait to see how the dust settles.
If I could start over again I would be smarter and transfer a small amount to begin with and then build on it later. That is my recommendation to others as well.
Not sure why they took away our ability to comment to a post or update our previous post, but this is an update.
Earlier my original post noted that MBD offered on their site no identification of the account being joint nor POD'd and I explained the importance of having properly recorded account styling info of proper bank record.
I subsequently used both their secure messaging and their CSR e-mail to request verification.
They did apparently quickly respond by sending me verification thru the USPS...but did not notify me that it is in process. So I had to write several times requesting such verification ...until I did receive it belatedly thru the US mail.
So, a little inconvenience, but they did respond with satisfactory verification.
I'm somewhat concerned as to their ACH accounting and posting, so I'm just nominally further funding by both a push and a pull to test such.
I will update.
I initiated a pull on the My Banking direct’s website to pull money from external bank for $350.000. While the money has been debited from my other bank on April 29, the money did not show up in my banking direct until May 1. There is totally no reason for this delayed posting of deposit because the fund was pulled using my banking direct website. (I verified with my transactions using CIT Bank and every single transaction was posted on the day the fund was debited from the other bank),
The only reason of this delayed posting is the MBD(Flagstar Bank) scheme to make money on the float. I am really upset that Flagstar/My banking direct) pocketed over $100 worth of interest income off the bat, making their lucrative interest rate not so lucrative.
Just like to warn fellow depositors to take into account this lost interest income while you consider moving money to My Banking Direct / Flagstar. For myself, I wish I didn’t move the money.
How does this bank stay in business? They do everything wrong, what a terrible experience!
Rate Information Account Type MBD High Yield Savings
Interest Rate 5.320%
At our discretion, we may change the interest rate on your account at any time.
I tried 3 times sent an application...they take all your information, including bank transfer, but no way to attach copy of ID, and address verification...after sending through regular emal, I received denial without any explanation...I credit score is 815...
They don't answer emal eather... I called them a few times, but for nothing...what is so stupid, they take all info about transferring money during application process then deny access.
I just (this week) opened their HY savings account. I have only nominally funded it to date, so my experience is limited.
While I found their application S/W procedure a little confusing and cumbersome, their CSR personnel were just terrific in assisting me.
I REACHED THEIR CSR's VERY QUICKLY AND EACH ONE GENUINELY WANTED TO HONESTLY HELP ME. Thank you to them, and they are the prime reason I have initially rated MBD highly.
I was able to quickly establish my external ACH/ETF accounts without any issue/problem.
(I will note that their initial funding requires use of PLAID... which I detest giving some third party access to my financial accounts. Now that I have my external funding accounts established, I will ask MBD next week if I can have my original funding bank cancel/reject further PLAID access.)
Beneficiaries PODs: I found it convenient that I could set-up my beneficiaries on their original account application.
HOWEVER, I can not find as yet verifiable documentation on their account S/W site that those PODs are of proper and formal and permanent bank record. That is extremely important to me for both my personal estate planning and for FDIC coverage limits.
(Be aware friends, I have done a lot of estate work, and unless that POD documentation is of formal verifiable bank record, you can encounter a lot of probate problems , and FDIC is not even permitted to honor certain insurance limits unless POD documentation is of formal bank record {not just in some files somewhere} ).
Perhaps I have just not yet found it on their account site , or it will be verifiable on my first statement. I will call and ask next week before further funding.
Their account S/W site is OK, but probably proprietary and not one of the standard systems.
For my purposes, I have no problem with their 9 day hold on available funds. Probably good security, but I did think 4 days was the longest ACH transaction clearance period.
They do require a fair amount of secondary confirmations, which I actually applaud/like from a security standpoint. And they do provide for both E-mail and two telephone sources (both text and voice) methods to verify.
I'm pretty sure they will be a good internet bank... but keep you posted.
I wanted charities-they do not allow charities as beneficiaries
1-I opened an account and wanted to transfer $5,000 from primary account. I filled out a lot of information and somehow created a duplicate transfer.
2-I noticed that an extra $5,000 was taken out on a different date, with a different description (no flagstar in the description like the first transfer) and no email notification of the transfer.
3-I called them right away and they said only $5,000 was transferred and there are no other transfers.
4-I waited a week for primary bank to do an investigation. They refunded me my money. That night I received an email from flagstar (my banking direct, formerly known as Bank of America), saying that my transfer had been stopped.
5-I called both banks the next day to explain everything and get it all cleared up.
6-Flagstar/My banking direct locked me out of my account. I have not been able to login/reset password and when I call, no can access my account and I have to continue to wait to access my account. One rep told me that I'd have to come into a branch, but there are none in my state. I have gone through the phone menus several times, been disconnected several times and have spent hours on the phone trying to clearly communicate the situation and get my account unlocked, but it's still locked.
its a waste of time to do the online steps. save time by not using this bank. customer service is also extremely bad.
In an effort to conserve capitol, mybankingdirect aka flagstar bank is denying external transfers AFTER debiting the money and NOT crediting it back to accounts. Since I am under the FDIC insurance limit, I don't think I i will have an issue. GET YOUR MONEY out asap.
Opened accounts at this and another bank (Raisin) for the same amount at approximately the same time with comparable HYSA rate. Already I see the differences. Whereas the other bank will make your funds available almost immediately, My Banking Direct (now Flagstar) will sit on your funds for 2 weeks and a day (they say 9 business days) before allowing you to do anything with it. What's more, you have to go through the rigmarole of setting up an external account in order to even have the option of transferring in or out. With the other, the funding source was set up as the default external account without having to lift a finger. Also, while MBD was undergoing a name change to Flagstar, their website was unavailable for 4 days! Not sure why it would take so long. Compared to any other bank website MBD/Flagstar is rather rinky-dink and low-key. Will wait it out for a bit, see if things smooth over, but so far am unimpressed and quite frankly spooked by their tenuous offering despite their slightly higher interest rate.
I get my interest every month that's what matters to me. Last month I took several large amounts out to buy CDs at different banks no problems they even called to make sure everything was on the up&up
No response to secure messages or phone calls. Calls will be redirected to an endless loop of automated responses. Do not return calls. Debit purchase are being denied.
I don't use cell phones for health reasons, so requiring a cell phone to open an account is discrimination on a number of levels.
MBD is a business arm of New York Community Bank who according to the financial news is in some deep do do. They’re desperate for cash is why they’re leading the pack as far as interest rates go. An oddball term (5 months) at a high rate is a red flag in light of recent goings on in the industry. It’d be interesting to see how getting your money back will work out.
Flagstar Bank Breached for the Third Time in Two Years
https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/flagstar-bank-breached-third-time/
A long letter from Flagstar Bank confirms that My Banking Direct https://www.mybankingdirect.com/ accounts are affected, suggesting to subscribe for KROLL Identity Monitoring Services.
They should be honest about their interest rate and advertise the true rate you get after they sit on your inbound deposits for several days during which you earn nothing, and they have a nice float at your expense. It's ridiculous. They use ACH, but if you schedule a transfer on a Monday, it will be deducted from the external bank acct that day, but not be credited to the My Banking Direct acct until Thursday. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency should not allow this. I'm sure they will be last bank in line to register for FedNow.
While on NJ temporary disability, they partnered with My Banking Direct in order to obtain YOUR money. NJ Disability Website clearly informs you when THEY sent your money to My Banking Direct, however My Banking Direct HOLDS your money for DAYS before you see a dime. I called and was told that you "May" see your available funds within 48 hours of when the State issued funds.
When you try to call, they make you jump through hoops first....
so this company issued the California Middle Class Tax Refund for 2022.
WHAT A MESS.
NO RESPONSE BY PHONE OR EMAIL.
MISTAKES IN PAYMENTS
PROBLEMS WITH TECHNOLOGY
UGH
SURE WOULDN'T BANK THERE.
I opened my account back in July 2022. Everything went smoothly at first and I transferred a substantial sum into the account. Minor annoyances include very long deposit hold times for checks to release funds, rate information not shown on their mobile app, ACH transfers are "standard" which take 3 days of lost interest. They sent me an e-mail on Oct. 3 months after account opening, asking me to verify my address by uploading a bill to their account creating portal. I missed this e-mail which resulted in them locking my account preventing any withdrawals as of mid November. No additional e-mails, phone calls, secure portal messages etc. were sent in that time informing me what happened. I then initiated a pull ACH transfer from Ally bank which resulted in Ally also locking my account when NYCB rejected the transfer. I then called NYCB and spent several hours speaking to 3 different representatives over the course of 3 days with each promising they would call me back when they found out what was going on; no one called back. They finally sent me a secure message telling me about the address verification e-mail and reason for the lockout days after my frustrating calls. Luckily their rates did not keep up with others in the months since opening the account so I had previously transferred most of my deposits out prior to the lock out, but the aggravation of calling Ally and NYCB and spending hours on the phone should give anyone pause before banking here. I will update the post if I ever get my call back.
You are going to lose couple days of interest for inbound and outbound transfer initiated on NYCB side
I understand the needs for banks to have excellent security but this bank takes it to a ridiculous level. I was on the phone for over a half an hour verifying an ACH transfer that I initiated. The rep clearly was using a faulty data service that asked me questions unrelated to me... or a series of questions that I answered correctly but said I failed. (I've had this happen with other banks.) That person disconnected me and never bothered to call back (even though she had called me and knew the phone number). I'm now on the phone with a new rep. who continues to ask me questions that I can answer yet I fail. After one hour from start to finish, the second rep asked me to simply verify some recent transactions and approved the ACH transfer. That could been done an hour earlier.
Additionally, a month or so ago, My Banking Direct (NY Community Bank) locked my account (apparently over an ACH transfer that they approved) and never notified me. It took many calls and two weeks for them to unlock it for a situation they never explained to me.
Update:
They just emailed me and forced me to call a special number and answer many public records questions under threat of canceling my withdrawal and suspending all account activity.
Original Post:
If you transfer in $10,000 your account balance will read as -$10,000 until the transfer clears. The transfer is set to clear 11 business days later! Every transfer from an external account will continue to bring your displayed balance negative by the amount of the transfer. REDICULOUS!
Moreover, when I call I am constantly transferred around in circles and "accidently" disconnected from the call.
Additional suggestions and issues listed below:
Mobile app:
1. No ability to view current APY/interest rate
2. no section for month to date and year to date interest accrued
3. Confusing and difficult to view pending external transfers
4. No chat ability
5. No widget for android users
6. Keeps asking me to setup bill pay when it is not available for savings accounts (the option should not be there if I can't use it.) I also have been emailed several times to setup bill pay for an account that doesn't offer the service.
Bottom Line:
My account should not show negative when it is not negative. This makes me want to close my account. But they charge a fee if you close your account within 180 days of opening. This is how they trap you. I have never heard of such a ridiculous policy.
Set up an Online withdrawal, then received an Email to call in the or they will not process.
had to wait 30 Min on the line to verify my identity
5 days till you see your money back.
I did NOT like the process at all. It downright made me nervous. I have 6 online bank accounts, but this was the only application I just plum bailed out after already having completed 95% of the application successfully. The bank will understandably prod you along page after page to submit and confirm all kinds of personal info, but it does NOT reward your completing the application via issuing you a bank account number and allowing you to set-up external bank accounts with the standard test deposit system first. The only way you get to open an account here is by authorizing that the bank will immediately transfer the required minimum $500 balance (or any larger amount you choose) via a cash DEBIT. They will not let you proceed otherwise. As mentioned elsewhere, the process is glitchy too. For example, it took me a while to realize I needed to enter the amount of $500 onto the screen after they had already done that for me. (ie; the "$500" minimum is already formatted and posted inside the box, and I thought all I needed to do was click on that amount.) Then when I figured out I needed to enter $500 again into the box, it then proceeded to tell me that I will be debited for the $500 from my bank "Listed above" . But I did not yet enter my external bank or debit card to see anything listed "above". There was nothing there. The normal manner elsewhere of opening a new account is that you are issued an account number with a zero balance. You are able to navigate and explore the new online bank to become comfortable & familiar with it before making an opening deposit.This is NOT an option here! You never get to see what their online bank website looks like, or set up external accounts or do test deposits until you first allow them to do a $500 cash debit. It's also not inspiring to know from what the others report here that you will have a difficult time reaching them in the event of questions or problems. Nope.
First: their website seems very dated. It could use a complete overhaul. Also, caught an easy misspelling in their home page, which is unusual for a bank.
Second: I had a terrible time working their website AND app to make an ACH transfer. Extremely glitchy and lacking information. I had to call their support and had to wait about 3 hours for their return call. I’ll just chalk that up to the fact they they’re likely inundated with customers right now because of their rate.
Customer support said to use Chrome browser and not Safari - which is an annoyance to have to switch.
Third: as others have stated, they do have a long hold time on transferred funds. But - the interest is acquired while the money is held.
Their rate is great right now, so I’ll give them a try but they really need to come to the 21 century on their web page.
I regret moving money into this bank. I went here due to their high savings rate, but the customer service so far has been horrible. As others noted, it takes forever to transfer money and their verification process is horrendous. It's impossible to get a hold of anyone by phone or by chat.
anyone can confirm about min amount to keep in the MM / savings account?
I closed this account 5 years ago due to maintenance fee for below $1k balance
how it's now?
tnx
Received the email today. HIGH-YIELD SAVINGS RATE INCREASES TO
2.20% APY 1
There's no need to do anything on your end—your account will be automatically updated to reflect this new rate, effective 7/30/22.
I have a few mobile accounts and MyBankingDirect was by far the simplest to open. Took just a couple of minutes and managing the account is super easy. Highly recommend.
Just like Chipcollector indicated, same boat of holding funds hostage for 10 business days. Although interest will be earned the organization could manager prospective customer's expectations better. Spoke to a supervisor and conveyed, awaiting word. Please be advised.
Small ACH in of $500 to new account hit with hold of 16 days, then to add insult to injury they show it as a negative -$500 and reduces my balance by $500.
I opened this account in the second week of July and at that time ordered checks. Have gone online several times to check status of my check order.
Each time I check the date gets pushed forward.
I am getting the idea that this bank does not want you to have checks. Has anyone received checks from this bank?
At 10 yr rate over 3%, NYCB return their customers with 1.25% is definitely better than other banks still giving sub 1%. However, with online-only features, there are still room for them to raise saving rates, e.g. from 1.25% to at least 1.6/1.7%.
The daily external transfer rate is only 50k. And, monthly is 200K. While that may be fine for some, that is a deal-breaker for me. This is especially true as most of the good online banks are significantly higher.