Bank

Rewards Checking: First Arkansas Bank & Trust

September 16, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

A New Rewards Checking Account

Since Coulee Bank dropped their rewards checking rate from 5% to 4% I have been looking for another bank. There are several banks that still offer 5% on their rewards checking accounts but there is one difficulty — they all take local customers only. This didn’t used to be but gradually many banks have withdrawn from the national market. Hence I decided on a bank that is still recruiting customers nationwide (except California). However, see Updates below.

Now First Arkansas Bank & Trust offers only 4.4% (since reduced) but with one redeeming quality — the rate applies up to $50,000. For this you only need to complete the usual ten point of sale debit card transactions per month. Also the one direct deposit, ACH debit, or online bill payment per month. You have to agree to receive E-statements and sign into your online banking account once a month.

[Read more…]

Problems with Checking Finder Identity Check

March 26, 2009 by Anonymous 6 Comments

My guest writer today is Anonymous who identifies a problem with Checking Finder that I have also experienced. My situation was resolved eventually by the bank to which I was applying when they contacted me directly. Read on to learn how to avoid the potential pitfalls during sign up.

Avoid the Mistakes

I had an interesting experience in trying to sign up with one of the banks on your list. I would like to somehow convey this information (without revealing my identity) to readers out there so that they can avoid some common mistakes that many people (including me) could make when going through the on-line application process.

Beware because not all identity checks are created equal.

The Problem

Many banks and credit unions use an outside service provided by Checking Finder which goes through a three step process of:

Taking your application information.
Verifying your personal identity.
Passing this information back to the bank or credit union.

Step (2), the identity verification process, has major problems in it that could result in your disqualification at one or more banks.

The Culprit

Checking Finder contracts out to a third party who, based on the social security number and valid drivers license number you provide, looks at your credit report and develops a series of security questions about your financial history. This is done in real-time and appears on your computer screen as you are filling out the application on Checking Finder. If you get any of the questions wrong, Checking Finder notifies the bank or credit union that you are applying to stating that you were unable to answer all the questions accurately.

[Read more…]

Rewards Checking: Lee County Bank and Trust

July 31, 2008 by rickety 3 Comments

Updates

26 Dec 2008 Recently the rewards checking rate dropped to 4% at Lee County Bank and Trust. See Bank Rewards Checking for banks still offering at least 5% on their rewards checking.

8 Jan 2009 Today I received notice that tomorrow the rate drops to 3%. Good grief that’s hardly rewards checking and I’m sure some customers will not appreciate the short notice. One wonders if the bank is in some sort of trouble. Fortunately I already pulled out my money and signed up with Deseret First Credit Union.

Rewards Checking at Lee County Bank and Trust

Rewards Checking

I wrote earlier about my experience with rewards checking at Coulee Bank. Lee County Bank and Trust offer the same 6.01% APY with their rewards checking account. They require 10 check card transactions a month, one automatic payment a month, online statements, and accessing your account at least once a month. They pay 6.01% on the first $25,000 and 2.50% on anything above that. The base rate for not meeting requirements is 0.15%. For those with a lot of spare cash, the 2.50% is a very good rate. However, I am merely looking for a backup account to transfer to if Coulee Bank should drop their rates or become rickety.

Process Me

The whole process of signing up for my Lee County Bank and Trust account took a month. Not exactly at the speed of internet time. It began with the initial signup June 26 through CheckingFinder where I electronically made my first deposit. This was very smooth and I received an email saying:

Your application for The Big Account was successful. You will be contacted shortly by a representative at Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A.

The next day I was indeed contacted with a pleasant email which began:

Let me be the first to welcome you to Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A. We are so happy to have you as a new Big Account Checking customer. Your account has been approved and I’d like to let you know what you can expect from here.

In the mail I was to receive these several documents to sign and be notarized:

Online Statement Agreement
Combined ATM/POS/Debit Card request form
Account Holder Card
TIN/Backup Withholding
Online Banking Service Application
Notary Acknowledgment (just fill out, not sign)

This was not particularly stressful, as I stopped by my Credit Union on the way home from work and they notarized the documents for no charge. This was accomplished by June 6.

[Read more…]