| 5 star: | (6) | |
| 4 star: | (5) | |
| 3 star: | (2) | |
| 2 star: | (3) | |
| 1 star: | (10) |
Their 4.35 APY has not been raised in months. They are not competitive. You can only link ONE account, and it must be a checking account.
The website just doesn't like me. AND, I get into my account, and there is SO VERY MUCH CLUTTER that I SIMPLY CANNOT see my account balance and info. VERY, VERY poor website and programing.
It is true it is somewhat of a limitation only having a single linked external account.
However, we had very little trouble opening the MySavingsDirect account (Online division of Emigrant Bank).
Also, when we spotted higher savings account rates elsewhere (like CIT bank, for example), we had no trouble moving the money back out. It only took a single day - actually less than 24 hours for them to send the money to our external account.
It is not the most sophisticated of online web sites, but it did the job for us. For a fair amount of time, they were some of the highest savings rates around.
They were at or near the top when I opened. But, they have slid down to at or around number 20 or so. Just a total pain in the arse to move money out of. Slow. Can't link external account other than the one you used to deposit funds into their account. So, if you moved cash into them from a low yielding account, you'll have to move it back to that low yielding account, before you move it again. One way in, one way out. I don't like my money being cornered like that. Now, I can't get my money out. Trying to send it to the exact same account I funded it with. Just a few thousand $s more than I put in. Total TRASH Bank. Horrific customer service. AVOID this dumpster fire of a bank and its pathetic employees who clearly all share one brain cell
I've signed up for MySavings Direct around 2018 or so, used them for a couple years, moved the money out to another banks when the interest rates sucked across the board, and just moved the money back as the 4.35% APY is hard to beat now (early April 23).
They do one thing good, and it's provide top interest rates in savings accounts. That's it.
The rest is... well... antiquated is the least offensive word.
The deposits take several days to become available even if you banked with them for years.
There's no mobile app.
The website design is very plain.
The "Remember this device" option never worked out despite me using multiple devices with different OS and browsers over the years - might as well remove that option; at any rate being forced into using your phone number for 2FA is probably a little more secure anyway.
Linking to an external account was straightforward but not super fast.
They only keep 2 years of statements (which in our age, is an artificial limitation).
The bottom line - they are a good bank to park your money at, and forget about it for a while. If you want to be able to frequently move money around, it may not be worth the hassle over a bank with a more modern approach to online banking and a slightly lower rate.
At any rate, they have a better website design than MyTreasuryDirect... not by much.
You have to jump though hoops to link an external account here beyond the one you funded it with. They want voided checks-who the hell has checks anymore? Or a bank statement...yeah, like I'm going to mail them my bank statement from external bank. Or a letter from a the bank officer. Totally ludicrous. I would advise staying away from this shimsham flimflam of a bank. Stuck in the 80s. They do pay a very good rate though...the yield is 4.35%
I have HYSA at several banks and credit unions. MSD was the last one I opened. I think it is the best of the bunch.
Here are 4 reasons why. First, it presently offers the top tier HYSA rate. Secondly, I twice called customer service and was connected quickly to a live person who spoke perfectly understandable English, who gave me the service and answers I needed. Thirdly, they have a very generous transfer policy. $500,000/day outgoing to your external account, a policy verified by one of my calls to customer service. Lastly, the transfers are fast. Like one day fast. On 1/31/23, I transferred $40,000 to my external account at 3:00 p.m. as a test to see how soon it would be in my external account. I check my external account at 7:00 a.m. the next morning, and there it is in my account.
For those thinking of opening an account and using the small deposit verification method. Be advised, it took a few days after applying for those deposits to hit my external account. In fact, that is what, in part, generated by first call to customer service. My initial transfer had been deducted from my external account,(which by the way, I always make small in case there is an issue), but my bank had not yet received the two verification deposits, so I was unable to verify my external account at MSD. It was explained to me that for whatever reason, it takes a few days for those deposits to hit. So, don't freak out if it happens to you. Otherwise, enjoy a great bank.
No Quicken support. WARNING: You cannot initiate transfers out of the account from outside institutions. You can only transfer money to/from outside checking accounts, and this bank has to initiate the transfer. $30 for an outgoing wire fee, but same limitations of only linked outside checking accounts. No transfers to/from investment accounts. High interest rates though.
So, filled out application right before Christmas. Straight forward process (***You can only fund from a Checking Account***) and confirmation page says you will be contacted in 2-3 business days. (*** Be sure to print your confirmation page***) MSD does not email you any confirmation of your application which was concerning as this is a very basic online function. After 4 business days, still no contact. Called customer service on business day 5 and was told with the holidays and demand for the product someone would be in contact by what would be business day 8, no other assistance offered.
On business day 6, received an approval of account email. Logging in to new account was easy and straightforward. The website is very basic but easy to understand. Could not however further fund the account (beyond initial funding amount) because the required two verification deposits to the checking account had not yet been made. Took 2 business days for the verification deposits to happen. Finally able to further fund the account on business day 9 (17 calendar days due to weekends, holidays and observed holidays).
MSD website is very basic. The alert notifications system is worthless for accurate and timely notification of activity, normal or suspicious. Set up a transfer alert to receive an email when any transfer between $0-250,000 is made.
Made a transfer to the account. Received an email that says: “Dear Customer, We have placed an important message in your secure Message Center on MySavingsDirect. Please log on to view this message as soon as possible.” Then logged in and the message says: “Your scheduled transfer has met the threshold you specified in your alert request. Additional details are available under the Transfers tab. If you did not schedule this transfer, please call us immediately. Representatives are available seven days a week, 8:00 AM - 11:30 PM ET.”
The rate is top notch. The rest, not so great. ***Pay Attention*** when you schedule a 1 time transfer. Twice I have scheduled a transfer on a Friday before the 5pm ET cutoff and twice when I checked the following week (on Monday & Tuesday) no transfer was made and there was no record of a transfer or transfer request. So I've lost 9 days of interest because their system sucks.
I transferred a significant amount of money from another bank account to MySavingsDirect. As soon as they received it, they reversed it back to my other account and flagged it as "insufficient funds" when in actuality they refused the money because turns out they don't allow transfers from other savings accounts (which they need to make more clear, or just not let you link the account in the first place).
This has caused a nightmare for me because the other bank said they never received the funds back. Now my life savings is lost somewhere in limbo. This was over a week ago. After multiple phone calls to try to locate the funds, the MySavingsDirect customer service agent claimed they never received the money. I called the other bank who said they definitely 100% received the funds. Now I'm on a wild goose chase. What really upset me though is the downright SNARKY attitude I received from both the customer service agent AND the manager I spoke to when I called.
The other bank was apologetic and sympathetic and ensured they would get to the bottom of the issue. MySavingsDirect (Emigrant Bank) was downright RUDE and blew me off and told me it was not their problem and my fault for trying to transfer the money from another savings account and I should have known better (are you kidding me???).
Considering people are trusting you with their life savings...I expected WAY way more. Downright disgusted with the tone that MySavingsDirect takes with their customers. You can keep your high interest rate. You're not worth the trouble. AT ALL.
Check the deposit growth a "D" with that high an interest rate, must be a reason people don't want to bank there. And linking to checking account only transmit ID only no thanks
Opened account 12/20/22 no problems have had several transactions again no problems.It seems like you can only have one bank listed for transfers for the first 90 days for me thats OK for me for some that may be a problem.
Like others have said, don’t waste your time with with MySavingsDirect. Sent in an application almost a month ago, now I finally get an email from their application team asking for me to email or fax a copy of my driver’s license (with the application # written on the copy) along with a bank statement (with application # again written on the copy). None of the other online savings accounts took anywhere near this length of time or asked for these documents to be sent this way.
I was able to open accounts within a few days with AllAmericaBank and UFB without these ridiculous delays and hassles.
I received the transfer into the savings within 2 days of opening the account. They stated their External transfer limit was 500k. currently @ 4.35%
My Secure message was answered within 1 hour.
The website is plain but its fast that way.
Edit 2/10/23. Did an external withdrawal transfer, within 24 hours it was deposited into my Bank account. Bank was still pending, but it was there.
This is a direct copy-paste from one of the legal agreements for this bank:
"Refusal to Permit Withdrawal
The Bank may refuse to permit withdrawals in cases such as, but not limited to, the following:
The Bank chooses to exercise its legal rights to require up to 60 days advance written notice of any intended withdrawal from this Account and the 60 days have not passed since we received the required notice from you; ..."
The legal agreement contains several reasons why the Bank can refuse to permit a withdrawal. I only listed the first one above. The phrase "but not limited to" means they can refuse to permit a withdrawal for reasons not even listed in the agreement!
I opened a saving account with MySavingsDirect. Within two days money was transferred via ACH transfer from the savings account from my bank (Bank 1). Upon looking at the ACH transfer options I discovered that I could only transfer funds back and forth between the bank (Bank 1) used for funding. There is no option to transfer funds to a second institution (e.g. a checking account with another bank - Bank 2).
MySavingsDirect will NOT allow me to create a second transfer account for 60 days. This has created a headache because if I need to access my funds to pay unexpected bills, I will need to transfer funds from MySavingsDirect back to savings account with Bank 1 - wait for it to clear -, then transfer the funds again to my checking account with Bank 2. This could take over a week to complete. So be aware.
The account opening process was quick. I applied late morning (eastern time) on January 03, 2023 and received an account approval email at 9:35pm (eastern time). As another reviewer stated, after submitting your application make sure to save a copy of your confirmation number since MySavingsDirect will not send an email acknowledging receipt of your application. No issues activating my account with a six-digit one-time passcode. I’m awaiting the trial deposits. On my account dashboard, the interest rate is as advertised (4.35% APY).
NOTE: I have had an active account with DollarSavingsDirect (3.50% APY) since September 2022. I’ve had no issues. For the customer, it would be nice if Emigrant Bank had one savings account instead of using three online platforms (MySavingsDirect, DollarSavingsDirect and EmigrantDirect.com (2.50% APY)). Keep in mind for FDIC purposes, Emigrant Bank aggregates all accounts.
People are having trouble with no responses to applications:
Same thing happened to me. Sounds like they will start cancelling people, or just lower their interest rates -- Could be a fancy scam: Bait and switch --- They bait us with an offer of 4.35% interest .. and then later switch to 3.5% ---- hoping we just say what the heck and accept their new lower offer.
(btw: They clearly state that they have the right to lower the interest rates anytime they want to.
I've had several accounts with Emigrant Bank over the years. Their rates are always or near at the top of the heap. Customer service is about average. You must open your account by mailing a personal check. You're only allowed 1 external account at opening. After a specified period of time you may add one other external account. However ALL external accounts MUST be a personal CHECKING account, which also requires mailing a check. ACH transfers, push/pull are fast and smooth.
I applied for an account 10 days ago and have not received any communication whatsoever. I called today and they gave me a number to call account review department. They are not open today….
In 2022 there is NO EXCUSE for ANY bank to have a website with application script that repeatedly malfunctions and an 877 phone number where you listen to music on hold while waiting for a human but then get disconnected before a human answers the call. In all, I wasted almost 14 minutes between multiple website application attempts and 2 phone calls. If yo can't even open an account or get a human on the phone, what would the banking experience would be like! NOT FOR ME !
Ok so when DollarSavingsDirect (DSD)was the rate leader at 3.5% APR I easily opened an account. As other banks topped that rate over time I stayed put. But now, Emigrant Banks other online bank “MySavingsDirect (MSD) moved to an awesome 4.35% APR. So the difference was too big to ignore. Opened that account as well. Website has exactly same look and feel as DSD. Pull back the money to checking and then push it all (except a small amount to collect end of month interest) to MSD.
DSD can connect directly to Quicken but MSD does not. I have to export a file. No big deal. All transfers are from the website, too bad no app or “Plaid” support. I’ll put up with these if either DSD or MSD has the highest rates.
Their rate is 3.5% as of this week. Tx ratio is a little high for my taste, but I'll keep some in there at that rate. Never had much of an issue w/ the site or people who answer the phones.
I signed up with them years ago, while I had a local bank account, so I wouldn't be able to access my savings without thought.
After a while, I closed the local bank and moved to an online bank, and started to need access to my savings. When I tried to link the accounts, My Savings Direct would not allow me to link to the online bank account. (As of current writing, I tried three different online accounts. None would link.) They wanted a voided check to link the accounts, which these bank accounts don't do paper checks, so no way to send them a voided check.
Got fed up and closed my account. They sent out a check, and three different bank accounts would not deposit the check. The check has aged out, and was given a run around by having to fill out a form, notarize it and mailing back the aged out check.
Not hearing anything back, I even tried to get them to reopen my account. They refused saying it's been over a year. If I wanted an account: I have to create a new account, I have to fill out the form (again), send the aged out check (which has since been lost), wait for them to issue out a new check, then mail the new check back to them to fund the new account.
I've been trying to get access to my savings before 2020, and a check I can deposit since March, 2021.