| 5 star: | (11) | |
| 4 star: | (12) | |
| 3 star: | (8) | |
| 2 star: | (6) | |
| 1 star: | (53) |
It's two weeks into February, and I have received 1099-INTs from all my (two dozen+) financial institutions . . . EXCEPT Popular Direct.
Not only does PopularDirect NOT have a way to download an electronic version of your 1099-INT after logging in to your account (when asked, they refer you to your final statement of last year).
They apparently need to be prodded, through internal email, to "re-send" your tax statement to the "correct address" once you provide it to them. They have the nerve to pretend that they already sent it to you in the first place!
How do I know? Because I am actually waiting for THREE 1099-INTs from them: one each for me, a friend, and my late father. Surely this cannot be mere coincidence.
If they would operate as a normal US bank (not like a foreign renegade, making up their own rules) they would allow you to download the statement yourself from their website. But they are in such bad financial shape that they apparently can't afford the programming power to post tax statements online, nor the manpower and postage to print and mail them on time.
Here's hoping my prodding works, and all three 1099s are received before taxes are due in April!
If you haven't gotten the drift of this rant: Here's yet another stinky problem with this sham bank. Read all the dissatisfied reviews, and save yourself aggravation at all costs by staying far away!
I had a cd mature on October 31 that I closed and requested that the funds be transferred to an external account. As of today, November 11 the funds have not been transferred. Supervisors have never returned my calls as requested. And now the Popular Direct telephone number 800-274-5696 doesn't work.
I had a CD that matured and asked that the funds be sent to an external linked account. They were never sent. I finally called after 5 days and they promised they would arrive the next day. I was told after 3 more days that the funds were sent to the wrong ACH and they would have to be returned before sent to me. Seriously? Their mistake. I was told that I would receive calls back from supervisors and it never happened. They were not honest and changed the story every time I have called. I am now in my 10th day without my funds and it is scary! I worry about ever receiving them. I would NEVER trust this bank!
I watched as my HYS dropped from 2.55% to 1.88% since August 2019.
Not happy but was willing to stay and maybe move a portion to higher yielding like VIO.
But when I executed a transfer originated from my external bank for a $2500 withdrawal from PD to my external bank, it was rejected and PD stated my account was frozen.
In 47 years of banking, I have never had any bank freeze one of my accounts.
Most of my investments are in CD's, Market and HYS.
I took on PD as they offered 2.55% APY.
Now it is down to 1.88%.
I just transferred my working capital with them of $80,000.I left $5100 while I file complaint.
30 minutes on the phone waiting for someone to discuss.
I should have that money reinvested tomorrow at 2.36% (combo of CD and HYS) with banks much more reliable. Sallie Mae CD 12 month 2.35% and HYS with VIO at 2.07%.
Popular Direct is doing the "bait and switch" scheme: First advertised 2.50% savings interest; I opened the account and deposited 15 K. Over the next 30 days, Popular Bank dropped the interest rate to 2.15%. Now that I am trying to move all my money out to pay off my mortgage by the payoff date, their external transfer verification link is not in the account. They just say: "don't know what is the problem. Across the board people are having this problem; we are going to investigate" and: "we are so sorry for the inconvenience" Popular Bank wants to charge $4.00 a month per account if balance is less than $5000 and another $25 for less than 6 months' termination fee. You have been warned!!
Mid way through a run of the mill 1-year CD I was notified that my account had been suspended due to the fact that I had not logged on to my account. Your kidding right? Nope! No interest paid for one month and it took me the better part of 1-1/2 hours over the phone to get it re-instated. I have several CD's with other banks and NEVER has this EVER happened before. I pulled the CD at maturity even though their rate was a bit better than some others. I don't need the drama!
I feel blessed and quite pleased with myself that I was able to lock in some money with popular direct when the interest rates were high. Relatively High. I hear all of these people whining and complaining about popular direct. Some say they drop their savings account interest rates. Well guess what so did all the other online saving accounts drop their interest rates. I had other online savings accounts that dropped their rates further than this popular Direct. And as far as the customer service they've been excellent. Not sure what a few of your complaining about which seems completely without any Merit. Thank you popular Direct!
I've registered here just so I could post this review. I have called customer service many times and have had friendly, helpful service. As far as rates - well - they WILL change daily and it will affect every savings account. I mean, that's the way daily interest is applied. The rate may change, but it's still king of te hill for a high rate all year on my daily savings account. I got tired of Well's Fargo giving me $0.92 on my savings. I've not been locked out, ever. Have been a customer for 15 months and have been more than satisfied with the bank and have recommended them several times. I would be interested knowing what they said about why the account was locked?
My wife tried three times to open an account. Customer service can not help. They said we have to wait over 10 days and try again. Why is it so hard to open a savings account?
I have opened several accounts in US and abroad; and this by far was worst!
After I did the final submit after filling in all the details and security questions (I did not step away or take too much time), I get the below message. When I call, i am told my application "expired" and I need to RESTART FROM THE FIRST PAGE!
I am so happy it didn't work, because I don't want to put my money in a bank, which can't even save and retrieve an application (and expire an application after final submit, without any message)
Thank you for your interest in opening a Popular Direct account.
Unfortunately, we cannot process your application at this time. You may contact us at 1-800-274-5696 to discuss your application further.
Also, the wire related info is incorrect. They dont do wire
ACCOUNT DETAILS
Domestic Wire Transfer Fee - Inbound $35
Domestic Wire Transfer Fee - Outbound $35
CIT and Popular Direct access are both currently down. The fact that they use the exact same software is quite troubling.
I closed an account a year ago and they paid a final interest payment afterward. I received no notice of this, either via paper mail or email. Thereafter, they charged me a monthly service charge to keep the account open (after I had closed it.) After 10 months of this, I called them and they would not refund the service fees, telling me I "should have known." Despicable company.
I have CDs across a number of banks. Banco Popular's CD web UI is, by far, the absolutely WORST web app. The login system is arcane, slow, and error prone. The design hasn't changed since the 90s. I'm moving my CD as soon as it matures.
It used to be that Banco Popular would post monthly interest on the 2nd of each month, while pretending it came in on the 1st (the date listed on your ledger). All other US banks I'm aware of give you your interest on the final day of the month, where it is clearly seen -- posted and received -- that very day, before the new month begins. (Sometimes posted earlier, on a Friday, if the month ends on a weekend.)
Now, Popular Direct has a new game afoot. They adjust your "available balance" upward, toward the end of the month, with your latest interest. (As in today -- a Saturday -- March 30th 2019.) But there is no indication in your activity ledger that any interest has actually been earned. Instead, in some seeming coverup, all prior running balances in your ledger are, unaccountably, also increased upwards by the same phantom interest amount . . . an amount you need to deduce yourself, if you've been keeping an independent tally (tracking your finances on a spreadsheet, Quicken, or even paper & pencil).
At least you get to see your interest early (once you figure it out). But with their strange system, I'm not sure this is an improvement; just another head-scratching annoyance. Those Puerto Rican programmers sure have peculiar banking practices -- not the most transparent!
After emailing directions to break a cd and transfer the balance to an external account, I received a polite email letting me know they'd take care of it. Two days later I logged in to find the account hadn't been closed and there was now an Inactivity Notice attached to it. - Called and the CSR had to talk to her supervisor in order to break this cd. --Just want to add the cd's closed, but the inactivity notice is still showing on my account page. I have no idea how to get rid of it.
Watch out, I had to file a complaint with the Fed about this bank. They gave me a written commitment (also confirmed verbally) about when interest would post on two CDs and now its not happening and they are not resolving the problem after numerous communications.
did withholding on my saving account. called and not tell me why and bad experience with custom service. web experience with account not good neither.
I have several CDs at Popular. Each time I open a new one, I have to fill out the complete application as if I was a new customer, plus go through the test deposit routine. I find this "odd" as other internet banks (I deal with a half dozen or so) have you fill out an online banking profile with your initial transaction and thereafter you get simplified/accelerated service on any additional account.
I called recently to verify this was the case and was told the only exception would be if I had one of their savings accounts, in which case the new CD application would be automatically populated with my personal information. (see other reviews as why this is not desirable ).
On my last new CD, an error was made on the funding account number. Popular sent me an email indicating they had sent the test deposits and that I need to respond to them with the amounts. After several days with no test transactions appearing, I called Popular. After research they advised me the transactions had been rejected. You would think they would have notified me of that, rather than leave me to believe everything was progressing as stated in that last email with the ball in my court.
I guess we all put up with this stuff because the rates are high (and some banks are worse)
Opened Saving account about a month ago, after transfer all my saving into this bank, with no reason this bank frozen my account.
When I filled my application online and gave them all my personal information including social security number, DOB, city of birth, mothers maiden name, etc. etc. ,they declined the application with no reason. Now they have all this info to steal from any other bank accounts you may have or pass out to telemarketers. First customer service agent told me all the info would be destroyed within 24 hours and the second customer agent told me it would take six months. What's up with that? Please bypass this bank!
I opened Savings account with Popular Direct around 18 months back. And recently, scared out of reading such bad reviews, i asked them to close the account and transfer the amount to account from where i transferred into this new Savings account.
They did not cross-question and transferred the money as asked. That was an experience as smooth as it can get.
Not sure why so many complaints. But now am even thinking to reopen my Savings account with them.
Poor early withdrawal penalty. My local CU has 180 days ewp on 5 year cd vs. 270 here.
I signed up for their CD and for the first year, it was great. Then accidentally missed the cutoff to close the account and was stuck in it for another year. Just closed my account and they couldn't/wouldn't send my money to one of my accounts. They would only transfer the money to the account I sent if from, which I had closed when I opened this account. Now it will be between 7-10 days to receive my check and then I need to deposit it into my account and wait for it to clear before I can open another high interest account, so I am out about 2 weeks.
I reinvested a matured 24 month CD into a 36 month CD. The reinvestment occurred as directed but 2 days later Popular Direct closed the new CD and sent the money to my other bank. After 6-7 conversations with the bank, they never accepted responsibility and required me to initiate a transfer of the money back to them to reinstate the CD. They would only honor the terms of the new CD if I could accomplish the transfer back within a 10 day grace period that had already run for 6 days. As a result, I invested my money in a different financial institution. What is alarming is their very poor customer service and bad attitudes. Where do they hire these people that mismanage our money? Stay away from Popular Direct regardless of the competitiveness of their products. You will get burned.
Be very careful with Popular Direct's money market account. A few months ago they froze all accounts. Please look at all the complaints in the depositaccounts.com web site. Also look at the complaints filed in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why should you care? Well the money you send them could be tied up for 60 days or more before you can get it back. (this is not a 2 month cd by the way - it is supposed to be a money market account) Mine was tied up for 90 days. This was the message on their web site……
Your security is important to us. That’s why, as of March 15, 2018, there will be a 60-day freeze on withdrawals for new accounts, starting with the date of account opening. Please note, your account will continue to earn interest during this time. Once the 60-day authorization period is complete, you may withdraw funds as needed…..
That may not be a problem for most people but if you are like me, I thought the concept of getting your money back on demand is a sacred policy of all banks. Think about that if you went to a local bank and they refused to give you your money back. It’s your money and you should not get an answer like “come back in 60 days”.
Do yourself a favor and investigate Popular Direct before you send them any money. They might just lower the rate that they are advertising right after you send them your money and worse of all, they have the right to freeze your assets (it’s in the fine print that they can do that).
Email I sent them:
You just sent me an alert "Maturity Notice" for my current CD maturing on ___ 2018.
On ___, 2017, you sent me an internal email saying, "At maturity you are able to close this account and transfer the full amount to the external account ending in ___."
On ___, 2017, I replied to you saying, "Unfortunately, you did not explain how I will be able to do that. When I am logged in & navigate to the top row .. Pay & Transfer menu .. Fund Transfer section .. Make a Transfer link .. Your system simply shows the message -- No transfer accounts found. ..."
On that same day ___, 2017, you replied saying, "The only way to close CD accounts and transfer funds would be to contact customer service by email, or phone."
I'm hereby giving you official written notice that on the day of maturity of this CD on ___, 2018, I want you to transfer the full amount to the external account ending in ___," which is the same original external account where the funds for this CD came from.
Please let me know if you can do that without any further action from me. Otherwise, I need you to give me very specific instructions on HOW or what I need to do to make that transfer happen on the day of maturity of this CD without wasting any time.
Popular Direct customer service's useless reply: "Thank you ... Unfortunately, we are unable to accept future dated instructions for accounts. Please contact customer service the day of maturity or during the 10-day grace period to process the closure of this account."
I wanted to prepare beforehand to make sure that transfer takes place without any delay upon the maturity of my CD with Popular Direct, but they refuse to tell me how to do it and is forcing me to wait till the day of maturity. Setting up an ACH link can take 1 week or so & I guess they know that the longer they can delay that, the better for them b/c they'll have the matured balance of my CD in their hands w/o having to pay me any interest on it during that period. Currently, I'm unable to "Add an External Transfer Account" and I guess it's because that CD is my only account with them.
I was concerned with all the reviews citing issues with rate drops and inability to transfer funds.
My rate has remained stable.
I sent the bank a query and received a prompt response.
I transferred a sizable amount via ACH and it occurred in a few days as expected.
From my end, I see no unusual activity other than the 60 day hold on funds in new accounts.
Customers funds are frozen for the first 60 days? Are you kidding me? Whose money do they think it is anyway? They only allow ONE external ACH linked account that may only be changed every 60 days. That single ACH link is pretty much the only viable means to make a deposit or withdrawal. They will sock you with fees if you close your account within the first 6 months, they have a dormant account fee, a minimum balance fee... They may offer competitive rates, but their customer relations STINK !!! I will be closing my account and moving my funds to a bank that values customer service as soon as the 6 months have elapsed.
My sister and I open a joint account with the lure of 2% interest.
then they lower to 1.8 without noticing us.
After we open, another new weird rule,
you can only access your own money after 60 days of opening account.
It has been 70 days, we tried to access money and transfer back to CD account at other bank.
They "locked "our money, and said,
"we are investigating how you fund the account"
WTH !!!!
This bank musts be in big financial trouble to go through this length to hold customer's money.
Person who answered phone told us, "Fraud department is investgating". but we are not allowed to talk to the fraud department ourselves.
This is a nightmare bank.
We don't know how long are they going to "investigate" . I need to find a "free" dentist for my tooth ache. Because all my savings is being hold by this
Popular Direct. If you have money there, please run.
If you were like me trying to get a little more interest , please don't make the same mistake like me. Don't jump in this hell.
Be very careful with Popular Direct. They are not to be trusted with your deposit.
Before you think about investing your money with Popular Direct please check into their recent actions. They have frozen all their new accounts since March 15, 2018. Please look at all the complaints in the depositaccounts.com web site. Also look at the complaints filed in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Make sure you identify them correctly. Popular Direct is a subsidiary of Popular Bank (FDIC # 34967) of New York. Why should you care? Well the money you send them could be tied up for 60 days or more before you can get it back. This was the message on their web site……
Your security is important to us. That’s why, as of March 15, 2018, there will be a 60-day freeze on withdrawals for new accounts, starting with the date of account opening. Please note, your account will continue to earn interest during this time. Once the 60-day authorization period is complete, you may withdraw funds as needed…..
That may not be a problem for most people but if you are like me, I thought the concept of getting your money back on demand is a sacred policy of all banks. Think about that if you went to a local bank and they refused to give you your money back. It’s your money and you should not get an answer like “come back in 60 days”. Here is why I think the bank did this. Popular Direct advertised an industry-leading 2.00% savings rate to attract new customers only to subsequently decrease that savings rate to 1.85%. As the money rushed in they lowered the rate on the accounts that were opened and at the same time disallowed people to withdraw their money. So for example if they got $150,000,000 in new deposits, this action would save them $37,500 in interest over a 2 month period.
Do yourself a favor and investigate Popular Direct before you send them any money. They might just lower the rate that they are advertising right after you send them your money and worse of all, they have the right to freeze your assets (it’s in the fine print that they can do that).
45 days after putting my opinion deposit, they put a pop-up window at login to my account that effective March 15, 2018, funds are held for 60 days and you cannot withdraw. If I knew this, I wouldn't have opened the account, this was not in the agreements anywhere. Surely enough, the only way is to close the account and forfeit their interest, which I happily did to get out of this deceitful bank. I am still waiting for my funds. DO NOT OPEN WITH THESE PEOPLE. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST. I MIGHT NEED A LAWYER TO GET MY MONEY BACK.
Reading all these negative reviews about this bank ~ I panicked and tried to transfer $5,000 out a couple days ago. Just checked today and had no problems what so ever. I have had an account of some form with Popular Bank for a couple years now; I just keep opening up a new account when they offer better rates and transfer all but $500 until the old account has been opened 180 days to avoid the early withdraw fee... THAT is a pain, but I must say I have never encountered any issues and whenever I call customer service, I am satisfied with the service that I get. Their website isn't as sophisticated as others, but I keep getting the great interest rate which makes me stay.
I had a significant amount of money deposited with Popular Direct, since the APY was very attractive. It was a honeymoon-like experience right up until I tried to transfer a chunk of money out of my Pop Direct account back into a "useable" account...they froze my funds and didn't notify me that they had done this. No email. No push notification. No phone call. No nothing.
They're a sham. Read page 6 of their disclosure closely. BLUF, they can freeze your money at will.
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID.
I PROMPTLY CLOSED MY ACCOUNT. THEIR SOLUTION WAS TO ALLOW ME TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT VERSUS FIX THE PROBLEM. HORRIBLE BANK.
Here's the excerpt from page 6 of their disclosure that basically gives them the right to freeze your assets without any reason:
Restrictions on Accounts and Services/Right of Refusal and Termination of Account
We reserve the right to refuse to open any Popular Direct Account or to service or to accept additional deposits to an existing Popular Direct Account, or to comply with any instruction or request that you
make. We may terminate your Popular Direct Account or other relationship with us at any time and without notice. We reserve the
right to terminate, freeze or restrict a Popular Direct Account at any time. We may require written notice of an intended withdrawal from any Popular Direct Savings Account not less than seven (7) days
before the withdrawal is made, consistent with applicable law. We may terminate your Popular Direct Account by mailing you a notice (prior to or immediately after closing the applicable Popular
Direct Account if and as required by law) and/or a check for the account balance at your address as shown on the Bank’s records. Thereafter, the funds will stop earning interest (even if the check is
returned or remains uncashed for any reason). Any transactions presented to us subsequent to such termination may be returned
unpaid. You agree that the Bank shall have no liability for transactions dishonored after the effective date of termination. If closure of your Popular Direct Account is due to a negative balance condition, the Bank may report this condition to applicable consumer reporting agencies. If you should choose to close your Popular Direct Account, notify the Bank at the time you are processing the closing transaction. If no
notification is given at the intended time of closing and a subsequent transaction is processed, the applicable Popular Direct Account could become reactivated. If a Popular Direct Account remains at a zero balance for more than thirty (30) consecutive days, we may close such account.
I was very excited to open up a savings account that paid 2%. The process to open the account was easy and I was aware that for the first 60 days I would not be able to change the external account I had linked to Popular Direct -ok with me because I knew I would be able to pull out my money from any of my other banks websites if I needed to. About a month after the account was open I scheduled a transfer out of Popular from my Ally bank website and the transfer went through with no problem. The problems started the following month when I scheduled a second transfer. On the third day when my money should have been available Ally bank called me to tell me that the transfer was blocked by Popular. Popular never notified me that there was an issue. When I called Popular they told me that they did it as a fraud preventive measure since my account with them was new. I explained that the previous month I had already transferred into my Ally account and they insisted that I had to email their fraud department a copy of my bank statement from Ally showing that the account was in fact mine because they had alot of fraudulent activity with other accounts so they had just implemented this. I was told it would take 2-3 days for them to review it and allow my transfer to go through. Because of this I had to scramble and rearrange all my payments for the month. A week went by and no one had called or emailed to let me know that the problem had been resolved. I called Popular again and they told me that my account was ok now so I would have to go back to Ally and set up the transfer again meaning it would be another 3 days for the transfer to clear. Since it was already 60 days I figured I'd ask them to go ahead and change the account linked to Popular. The customer service rep at Popular told me that I was 2 days short of 60 days so I would have to wait and call back. When the 2 days passed I called and was on hold for an hour and a half! I could not believe it!! I called from my cell phone while still on hold on my office phone and they picked up within 5 minutes! Apparently their phone queue isn't customer friendly either. When I explained to the rep that I wanted to link a new account so I can finally close the account that they had linked (The one that I transferred the money from when I opened the Popular account which I had intentions of closing) I was told that they would remove the account, which again would take 3 days, and then I could go into my account online and add the new one. I've never had to go though so much trouble with a bank to get my money. They put me in a really tight spot and did nothing to help.
Wow. Just wow. Definitely listen to the previous comments posted here. Incredibly sketchy bank. Hard to imagine this bank can even exist. I made a large deposit after they raised the interest rate to 2.0%. At that time, there was no policy or statement informing me of a 60 day hold on the account. They placed a retroactive hold AFTER they had the money, informing me weeks later. Probably illegal. Now, I am unable to access even a penny of my money. I made a huge mistake trusting this bank.
They claim that this hold will be lifted 60 days after the initial funding of the account unless I send the fraud department ownership of my other account. Which I have done, playing along with their game. Definitely resembles a complete scam of some kind.
They are also liars. In early June, I spoke with a supervisor and they said I had the option of closing the account. I said yes I definitely want to move forward with that. They said it would be done in 2-3 business days with funds transferred to original funding account. 2 weeks later, no action or activity on the account. I call in and they say I need to wait the 60 days.
Sketchy, dishonest, probably illegal. This bank should be shut down or probably at the minimum face penalties/legal action. If anyone reading has any info about legal action, class action suits, etc, please respond or private message.
My 24-month CD matured on June 13 so I called to instruct that it not be renewed. OK, fine, was told that funds would be transferred to my external account in 2 or 3 business days. Note that the Service Agreement states "External Transfer requests received by 7:00pm ET on a Business Day will be processed on that Business Day." Called June 15 to check on the status of the transfer. Surprise, surprise, hadn't happened. Asked to speak with a Supervisor who, after researching the situation, told me the transfer "request had been sent to wrong office" but she'd fix it.
Don't even think of depositing money at Popular bank. Look at all the comments in May and June 2018. When a bank acts this way a run on the bank can occur. You can't just freeze accounts without something going on I think the Fed and possibly others are trying to work things out before a run on the bank occurs. Anyone know who to contact for more information on the status of a bank? FDIC or other banking authorities?
I opened a savings account with Popular Direct on April 4. The bank started to deny all forms of withdrawals from this account since May 26. I called their customer service and was told that they put a retroactive 60 day account hold on all new accounts. There was no email notification of this new policy. They told me to email [email protected] a copy of statement or voided check to prove ownership of the recipient account for the transfer. I sent the "fraud email" as requested on June 2, but was told it would take 3 business days to release the hold. As of today (June 7), I am still unable to make any withdrawal in any form. Good job on preventing fraud, Popular Evil!
I put $500,000.00 in a saving account in April. They have FROZEN my account and will not return phone calls or emails.I'm filling a complaint with the FEDERAL RESERVE. ..DO NOT PUT YOUR MONEY IN THIS BANK.!!!
They have completely removed the ability to withdraw any of the money in your account, because the only method they have ever provided was ACH, and they are now rejecting all ACH debits initiated either on their web site or from an external account.
Long term account holder yet they freeze funds
Save yourself a lot of headaches - not worth it
Extremely poor customer service.
No way to speak with anyone of authority.
Having dealt with many internet based banks over the years, Popular Direct is officially the worst experience I have had with a bank. While their interface is poor, the lure of the 2% account convinced me to deposit $200k with them (wanted to remain below FDIC limits given the caliber of the bank). Everything was fine for the first 50 days or so, until I tried to withdraw some funds. I scheduled an ACH transfer without issue, but on the night of the scheduled transfer I received an email that the transfer had failed. I called their customer service line, only to be told that they put in place a retroactive 60 day account hold on all new accounts. Had this policy been in place when I signed up, I would have not opened an account. There was no email notification of this new policy, just a popup if you happen to try and log in to your account (which I did not see as I had scheduled the transfer before the policy was changed). Customer service told me I need to email them a copy of a canceled check to prove ownership of the recipient account for the transfer (despite this account being linked to my account the entire time, with the usual test deposit verification process). I email them the check, but am told it will take 1-3 business days to release the hold. There is no way to talk to this mysterious fraud department on the phone and the customer service agents cannot help you with this. I immediately closed my account, which they say they will process in 1-3 business days. As a last shot at me as a customer, they transfer the funds out to the original account I transferred in from, still without any notice. They also charge a $25 fee to close the account within 180 days of opening. Small price to pay to be rid of these idiots. I will be making complaints to the banking regulators as well given their deceptive practices. From now on, am sticking with reputable internet banks.
On May 10th I open a Popular Direct Exclusive Savings Account with $50,000
I subsequently made two more deposits: one on May 21 for $2000. and one on May 23 for $2000.
On May 25 I open a Popular Direct 60 mo CD for $50000 and was told that they would immediately transfer the money from my Savings Account.
On June 1st the transfer was still not done and called customer service and was told that there was a hold on my savings account and they wanted me to send a copy of a voided check from my checking account in which I did.
On June 4 still no transfer from my popular savings account to my new cd account. Told it would take 4 more days to transfer.
I already have two other CD with them and still they wanted to make sure that my funds was from my checking account.
Account suddenly frozen without any personal notice. Will move all my money out once the "FraudDept" email and 3 business days wait are satisfied.
DO NOT use this bank. Please read all the reviews. I am living the nightmare of not being able to get my money even AFTER illegal 60 day account freeze. READ THE REVIEWS !
got a 2% savings account before the rate change. I have had no problems for the first week. I did email a question waiting for the response.
Someone posted this bank being in Puerto rico they have the wrong bank. This bank is based out of NY.
Opened an account 24 April at 2% and deposited over $100K. Things were fine initially until 3.5 weeks later I try to transfer out a small amount. They placed a fraud hold on my account until they can verify the funds were actually mine!
1) I was never contacted for this suspected fraud! I had to stumble across it myself trying to transfer funds several times and eventually call customer service; wasting time. I've never had this problem with any other bank.
2) The account was opened less than a month ago where my info and the external account were both verified.
3) Then the real kicker, they lowered they're savings rate from 2% to 1.85%.
When my funds are clear, I'm gone!!!
Offers of high rate to attract funds then quickly drops rates within a short time while most competitors are maintaining or raising their rates during time of rising market rate.
Be warned.
I applied for a MONEY MARKET AT 2% and was approved. I was waiting for the Micro transfers which took a few days. Once they occurred the rate changed even though I was told I was locked in for 30 days by customer service, since I applied before the rate change and was only waiting confirmation. They lied and changed their policy costing me time, effort and money. Their is no appeal and customer service would not refer to a supervisor.
I opened a 2.00% savings account with $150k. I was promised access to this money via ACH. Initially the money was held for 4 days (a reasonable policy) but then was placed on Fraud Alert because they wanted to insure I owned the account the money came from. I was told to e-mail a bank statement or canceled check to [email protected] Realized that they wanted this done via normal e-mail, unsecured, through the internet (they didn't have any internal encrypted document capability for client information). Against my better judgement I did. I was told this would release their fraud hold in 24 hours. 5 days later and still can't access my funds. Daily calls get promises but nothing changes. They won't transfer to a supervisor, won't give out or transfer me to the Fraud Dept, won't give me a supervisor phone number. After almost 3 weeks of this I decided to close my account. This apparently will take 2 days to process the request and 3-5 to send the ACH back. Of course, no interest for the whole time. Stay away. They are poorly run and have no way for a client to move up a chain to complain. Customer Service is very nice but they are given no ability to actually resolve anything.
I followed all the rules and opened their 2% savings account. The limitations placed on the account, such as not being able to link more than one other institution, and then only by ach link, never a wire or other means, has been documented before.
BUT...I was careful to ask before opening the account whether they can do *both* of the things that the FDIC told me directly is necessary to establish an 'informal' or 'soft' trust: 1. Include POD or ITF in the title of the account, and 2. Have beneficiaries for the account. I was told that both could be easily done in the same message in which I include beneficiaries. I called them today to do that, and it turns out that 1. I was totally misinformed - they cannot, and will not add ITF or POD to the account title without all the trappings of a formal trust (such as date of inception of the trust); and 2. They were just plain ignorant. The supervisor i spoke with said FDIC has a site I should look at. I told her that I *started* with that site, then went to phone calls with FDIC staff, where I got differing opinions about whether both letters (POD, or ITF) and beneficiaries were needed to establish an informal trust, so I spoke with the most senior person a citizen can reach, whose authoritative advice was that *both* were needed to insure deposits above $250k. The super at Popular Direct said, "Well, that's just an opinion." I was flabbergasted! I said when the CEO of the bank says that only formal trusts are allowed, that's not an opinion, that's POLICY. If you want to make financial plans based on being misinformed and then treated badly by ignorant supervisors, who have no understanding of the different kinds of trusts, and is misinformed but thinks she knows best, this is the bank for you! Her 'generous' offer to me was to review the earlier conversation I had where I was told ITF/POD was 'no problem', and then have Popular Direct determine whether I could close my account in less than the 60 days, which was their rule. They sure know how to take care of the customers!
I'm considering opening an account with this bank, but I'm not too crazy about the $25 penalty fee that applies to those closing an account within 6 months. The rates at various banks can go up very nicely this year, and this 2% rate can become stagnant if Popular Bank doesn't increase its rates for you voluntarily
Can somebody kindly confirm to me whether or not Popular Direct Bank will automatically provide higher rates for their existing customers whenever they raise their rates in the future? I have an account with Cit Bank who makes it necessary for me to call and request the same higher rate that they are giving their new customers. Cit Bank will oblige and simply change the name of my existing savings account to the name of their new higher paying savings account and give me the higher rate along with it. While I'd prefer that Cit didn't play these games and not make it necessary for me to call them and request the higher rate, it's no big deal for me to call if I must. What DOES bother me is when a bank will make you close your existing account and start a whole new account and a new customer process all over again with passwords and all in order to receive their future rate increases!!. Investors Bank in NJ does just that to you, and so I declined to open an account with them because of it. (I'll just take my 50k to 100K elsewhere) Will Popular Direct voluntarily share their future rate increases with you with little or no effort....or do they make it difficult for you and reserve rate increases only for their new customers like Investors Bank does?
I opened up a new long-term savings account, but could find no form online to assign a pay-on-death statement. I emailed and was told I could email back the information, but they will only allow 3 PODs per account. That's a problem because I have 4 children. I mean seriously, in today's world you only allow 3 PODs? That makes no sense. I called customer service and was told there is no way around it. That means I'm going elsewhere. I also have to add that their website feels like it's right out of 1990. It's very archaic which makes me wonder about security. So overall, a poor experience all around.
I recently moved about $25,000.00 in Savings to this bank. I've had a substantial amount of money in my savings at my local bank for a few years. The interest rate has gone up slightly, but is still a paltry 0.3%. I did some research online to find a bank that was giving a better return on my money, yet still allowed for easy access should I need it. Popular Direct was offering a 2.00% APY on Savings account with at least $5,000.00, so I decided to give it a try. The account setup process was quick and painless and the website was easy to navigate. In addition, it allowed me to set up a direct link to my current account so I can move money to my local bank should the need arise. It's only been a short time, so it is still unclear if there will be any hiccups, but thus far I have been satisfied.
This bank is incompetent. I opened a account when i saw the 2% that day. The application went thru however after the problems began. I was locked out of my account during the first 15 minutes and talked with them on the phone. They claimed the problem be fixed within 24 hours. I instructed do not INITIATE THE ACH UNTIL i can succesfully open the site. They took the money anyway. I had to force them today to get my trial deposits info from my external bank and they refused. I then spent 5 times until i forced them with repeorting them to comptroller of the currency usa. I then made the external withdraw out of there bank as they were going to hold my 5000 for5 days..
DONT OPEN WITH THEM,,,IMCOMPETENT AND VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. CUSTOMER SERVICE CANNOT MAKE ANY DECISIONS, ALL MUST BE REVIEWED BY ANOTHER STAFF WITH 3-5 DAY TURN AROUND IF LUCKY.
NOBODY NEEDS THIS!!!
Been a member of this bank since they opened and have had both CDs and savings accounts. Easy to open & maintain although they do have some annoying policies.
First is that they sometimes make you open add'l accounts to gain access to their high rates. At least this one is an easy fix since they have an easy to open online account process.
Second annoying process is that of adding PODs/Beneficiaries. You must provide all beneficiaries SS#'s. Imagine calling around to extended family and asking for this info. Dob should be good enough.
Even with the annoying policies I remain a happy member. But it sure would be nice if they fixed em.
Very hard to open the account. I have tried to apply for this a couple of times. Every time the online system doesn't accept and directs me to the customer service. The customer service cannot help and just ask me to apply again. Since online is the only way, I guess I won't be opening this account. Oh well!
I would say that this financial institution does a good job at taking care of its customers. The offered rates for their products are very competitive and the online banking system is secure and very easy to use on a regular basis. I do like the fact that customer service is open to take calls any time of the day, but something that could be fixed is the hold time for a representative. While sometimes the hold time might be short, at other times it can be as long as thirty minutes to forty-five minutes long, which I feel should be fixed. But as stated before, I think the experience as a whole is very good and would honestly recommend this financial institution to friends, family, and colleagues.
I opened a CD account with this bank due to the interest rate on 2 year CD's in October of this year. I am very satisfied with the process of opening the account, which was easy. I was a little leary since I had never opened an account with an online bank before but it seems to be progressing well and I see my first month's interest has been posted. I was previously with Wells Fargo on a large CD account which was paying nothing. After researching I decided to go with Popular. I did split up my CD and also opened another account with another online bank. After some time, I also opened a savings account and so far I can say, I'm very happy. The app for this bank is easy to use, however I hardly use it mostly just check online to see balance. Very happy. Online banking is very good to saving money. I do however still maintain a checking account with Wells Fargo.
I chose Popular Direct because I wanted to expand my portfolio to include a savings account with a higher interest rate, preferably one that compounded interest daily. I was banking with Wells Fargo, and after the scandal with that bank I was hesitant to open another account with them. Also, being a millennial I was drawn to Popular Direct that is primarily designed to be a mobile service, with few (if any?) brick and mortar stores. The website is fabulous, there are links that are detailed if you want lots of information, but the basics are easy to navigate and find. You don't get buried in the minutiae. The interest rate for savings is very competitive at about 2.5 percent. It is FDIC insured, but of course there are federal limits on the amounts so this might not be as relevant to everyone. I was surprised, pleasantly, by the fact that the minimum to open an account is just $5000. With an easy mobile app, direct deposit, and anytime access I can watch my money grow daily if I want. The one draw back is that you do seem to get a call center based in a foreign country when you call the number for phone customer service...I suppose that is becoming more and more common with many businesses, but it can be frustrating when accents or elaborate phone trees cause confusion.
I have CDs in Popular Direct. A 2-year CD came due. The bank sends me a notice in the mail that it will expire. If they do not hear from me it will automatically renew at the same term. I e-mail them through their secure message system that I want the money - not to renew. Days later I check, they renew it!. I called to complain. They said I have to wait for the CD to mature BEFORE I send instructions! What?! I lost my appeal. SO now I am stuck penalty paid in order to release the money I am with them for another 2 years! Terrible.
This is a great company for mobile banking I recently told a friend about the great customer service. The fees are okay with any bank but know if you ever have a problem yhey will go out of their way to help. They have an app thats preety simple but very useful on the go, I love the app its so clean and streamline. I haven't used my card to purchase a hotel yet but Ive had good times using it for mainly online purchases. And for groceries.
I was offered a checking account for free through my work and decided I would have 10% of my check automatically deposited to my account each pay period. I never tried an all online bank before so I thought it would be a chance to try it out. One of the benefits with Popular Direct was I received my pay a day earlier than through my normal bank. I really used this as a savings/ emergency fund. Also, the online login site is super user friendly. You can pay all your bills from online banking. The negative, fees for atm withdrawals. That was a big turnoff. I only called customer service once and they were very friendly. This was actually to close my account. I really didn't feel comfortable not being able to got to the bank and see a face. And, I did not like the fees, which I was not charged for with my main financial solution.
Popular direct charged me a $5.00 dormant fee even though I sign in regularly to transfer money to my other bank. At about the same time I received a letter in the mail from them stating that my account had been dormant for a year. They obviously did not set their computers up correctly. I closed the account.
Popular Direct double debited our savings account at the end of Mary 2017. I have spent hours sending customer "service" messages and on the phone with their "customer service" personnel. (among the least competent of any business with whom I have ever dealt) trying to reverse/straighten out the problem. I finally gave up and filed a complaint with the NY State Banking Dept. I will let the commission straighten out the problem. What a hot mess. It is understandable why the bank is having problems in Spain. THE WORST.
I used to have a long term savings account with Popular Direct. I had heard good things from a friend So I was excited to try it. But I had nothing but bad experiences with them. The fees were unreasonably high, and they seemed to charge them indiscriminately. It was tough to get a handle for their fee schedule. I would call their customer service number to dispute the clearly fraudulent charges, but I would often get push back from the unfriendly and rude staff, whether communicating by phone or by email.
Also, the mobile App was poorly designed and counter- intuitive. It was clunky and was constantly crashing. It would log me out of my accounts and then I would get an error message if I tried to log back in.
I have a savings account with PopularDirect.com and I have a 1.15% APY, which is more than the last bank I was at was offering me so I'm happy working with PopularDirect. I have the mobile version and it seems to work well except when I have a lot of background applications open and it will take a lot longer to load the options. I haven't used the web platform much as I'm not on my computer much throughout the day. I would highly recommend this banking institution to family and friends. I think that if there was a platform change I would make the mobile app a bit smoother and change the interface background to a dark blue. Other than that I feel that the application gets the job done.
I was having a hard time getting a savings account that meets my needs because most banks sell their savings account as a package with a checking account. I strictly wanted to get a savings account that I would not touch and that would be easy to open. The Digital Savings account at Popular Direct was just what I needed. It was offering a savings account by itself and they were based online so I could do everything I needed to do without going to a branch, it was all at the touch of a button. I felt really comfortable using the interface because everything was clearly labeled and i could find what I needed without further research. I would recommend this site to anyone who is looking for a simple way to put money away.
I was recently looking for an online bank that allowed me to do all of my banking for my online business without ever having to leave the house. I came across Popular Direct while doing a Google search for such a product. It was extremely easy to set up for an account, and accessing your account information is even easier than I thought it would be. All I needed to open an account was my social security number and a valid mailing address. They have a good range of savings products. I really like their CDs and have two with them. They offer good rates and are easy to access through online banking.
I waited for 45 minutes before I reached a guy who told me he had to switch me to customer service, then waited another 30 minutes. They had my account all screwed up. Wanted to add a large (very large) deposit to my account, and I was told it would take 2 or 3 days to fix my account and could neither take money out or put money in. Since the held my cash at ransom I closed the account and switched to Synchrony Bank who has a very good system not quite as big interest rate, but I must warn anybody opening an account with these people, they are not efficient at all! Don't take a chance on losing your deposit
Just opened an account and they have not earned my confidence so far. I investigated only after opening an account and they are not listed in FDIC and Federal Reserve Board. They claim to be associated with Banco Popular of North America but there is not written documentation of this except what they claim on their website. Their instructions on their website on their Create User Profile page for creating a user ID for access to online banking is incorrect (i.e., Must be a minimum of 8 characters, at least 2 letters and 2 numbers and is case sensitive.). I spoke with a customer rep and she gave me very different instructions (i.e., Must have 8 or less characters, 1 capital letter, and at least 1 number). Feeling uneasy, I requested to speak to a floor supervisor who gave me yet a different set of instructions (8-10 characters, include at least 1 number). I am now nervous about putting any more money into this account. I've never encountered this with a legitimate financial institution. Assuming they are somehow still a legit bank, I don't know how else they will be unreliable. Who are these people I am trusting my money with? I'm afraid to put more of my money into my account with them and wondering if I'm better off closing the account and going elsewhere.
Popular Direct is the BEST on-line bank I have ever dealt with.
1. GREAT rates on Savings and CD's.
2. Easy site to navigate once registered.
3. Nearly immediate time for external bank transfers in and out. ALSO, can transfer up to $1 Million.
4. Customer Service exceptional (especially on-line)
5. This bank has MORAL INTEGRITY. You don't see this anymore in banks, especially big banks. They stepped up and gave me interest on something that "legally" I didn't deserve b/c I screwed up on something.
Overall, HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
I wouldn't keep a ham sandwich in this bank.......BANK STATEMENT IS INCORRECT.........2 reps and 3 supervisors HAVE NO IDEA WHY. All they know how to do is say " I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry......" like parrots. THREE different occasions I was told I would receive a call back from a supervisor with an explanation. NO ONE EVER CALLED.
Can't wait to close my accounts.......this bank is SCARRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 yr rate went from 2.35% to 2.45% for a few days this week and then back to 2.40%. I was planning on opening one at 2.45% and certainly didn't expect such a quick reduction.
Be aware of these gotchas:
MINIMUM TO OPEN: $5,000
MONTHLY SERVICE FEE: $4
If the balance on any day of the statement period is less than $500
EARLY ACCOUNT CLOSING FEE: $25
If account closed within 180 days
(Customers will earn interest paid but not interest accrued as of the account closing date).
DORMANCY FEE: $5
Monthly fee after the account has not had activity for 12 months.
Accounts Presumed to Be Abandoned/Dormant Accounts
If you have not made a withdrawal from, or deposit to, your Popular Direct Account for an extended period of time and we have been unable to contact you, your Popular Direct Account may be classified by us as “dormant.” Additionally, in instances where you have not communicated with us, and/or you have not increased or decreased the balance in your Popular Direct Account for an extended period of time, as provided by applicable law or regulation, your Popular Direct Account may be deemed “abandoned.” State and federal law and Bank policy govern when deposit accounts are considered “inactive,” “dormant” or “abandoned.”
LINKS TO DOCUMENTS:
Personal Banking Disclosure:
https://populardirect.com/pdfs/personal-banking-disclosure.pdf
High Rise Savings Account Disclosure:
https://www.populardirect.com/pdfs/Popular%20Direct%20High%20Rise%20Savings%20Account%20Disclosure.pdf
Fee Schedule:
https://populardirect.com/pdfs/schedule-of-fees.pdf
My 2 year CD matures in a couple of days. I called the bank and told them that I would like to close the account. But it turns out that the bank does not accept any instructions before the maturity date. CSR told me that I have to call them on the maturity date or during the 10 day grace period. I was wondering if any other banks have the same rules? I had several CDs with different banks and was always able to provide instructions before the maturity date.
I signed up for Popular Direct about a year or so ago. Their rates are very competitive and fair for their CDs, I went with the 24 month CD which is one of the best rates on the market. Opening the account was very easy and their customer service was top notch. Their site is smooth and works very well, I have yet to have any issues with it. I have kept an eye on the account and it seems very secure as nothing suspicious has happened. There are no hidden fees, and their policies are clear and spelled out in concise language. I have had nothing but positive experiences with this bank and I will continue to use this bank in the future.
The website uses a very attractive APY, but when you open the account, the actual APY you receive is lower. The customer service rep's explanation contradicts each other and changes all the time. They promised that they will give me the APY I saw online but I didn't see any fixes at all.
Also, I called to close my account because I needed the fund to pay off mortgage, not only did they charge me a whole year of interest when I am not getting a penny in interest, but 5 business days have gone by and I still didn't see the money transferred to my bank. Called again and the rep said the weekend rep does not know that i needed to have the signature on file in order to close a CD. I said you guys have 5 business days to let me know but they said we called but couldn't leave a vm. Why am I getting vm from other people but not you? And you guys had 5 days to reach me. They've cost me lots of money because of the interest I am being charged on a daily basis from the mortgage.
I recently opened an account and had no issues. I even called customer service a couple of times for various questions and had no issues whatsoever. You might be on hold, but I was for less than 3 minutes each time. Opened a CD too because their rates are better than my other online bank. No problems, but I moved the money from the account I set up the week before. Their website is still working out some clumsiness, and you can only link one exterior account at this point, but I am pleased so far. It's only been less than a month though so far.
Stupid policies. If you email them with questions, they will just repeat your question back to you in the form of a statement. If you call for customer service on the weekend, they will let you hold for a long period and then you speak to someone who tells you your request can't be handled by the weekend crew.
Their interest rates are fantastic and once I get things set up the way I need them to be and don't have to deal with their stupid customer service policies, I think it will be fine.
You will sit on hold for over 20 minutes. Simple questions could not be answered. I filled out the application. I received my 2 deposits verifying my account. I followed all instructions as to how to continue and online will not allow it. I called for help, disconnected after 20 minutes the first time, 2nd time no help. I was told I should wait 2 more days to see what happens.
Now I read the other horror stories here. No interest when closing the account past the previous closing date? RIP OFF!!!!!
I have been with Barclays for years but higher rate brought me here. First, as said you can only link one account and have to wait 60 days or more to change it. In addition, they don't show your account number or routing number so you can't link the account from your external account. I have asked three questions over the past week and NEVER get responses. Its like they don't even read their emails. Plan on a long wait until your deposit is available. I plan to close the account once initial deposit becomes available, if that ever happens.
They've fixed that odd problem where you couldn't add much after initial deposit.
They still have only 1 bank linkable at a time. And customer service has asked but hasn't been told more are planned yet.
Setting up the account online was easy enough and it's there, in less than 3 days. The application times out and doesn't save, so look down the list and gather all information before starting.
Take a look at the very fine print on the account agreement before you do business with this bank. When you close your account, they DO NOT accrue interest to the closing date. That can get expensive if you don't pay attention.
I also opened my account with a modest deposit. Now there is no way to add a large amount of additional funds.
They currently have no way to take deposits, other than the $30K a month limit through their ACH service.
Opened an account online to gain access to the 1.26% APY. Easy to open online and moved monies in easily via ACH push. They pulled money in initially from my bank (smaller amount). Website isn't full service but does the trick. Not much functionality via website (can't update/change mailing address solely current and can't add beneficiaries). But both can be done with a call to their CS which is responsive.