Central Bank?

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Hello-
I'm trying to start saving some money in a bank other than my "primary bank" (Sovereign-not leaving, I'm too roped in).

Something is appealing to me about Central Bank. Any opinions or helpful things I should know? I've searched the old tags, and see a lot of feedback about Wainwright (mostly positive), but would like to find out more about Central if possible. Yelp had one review - 5 stars.

Thank you!

Comments

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

get an emigrantdirect account.
emigrantdirect.com

[meeesh.livejournal.com]

I second that... or ING

[progressnerd.livejournal.com]

HSBCDirect is good too, and has a higher rate right now.

[dullescoelho.livejournal.com]

ING seconded.

[ron_newman]

Who are they, and why?

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Online banks. Why, because you get a much better rate than traditional banks.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Emigrant rocks.

If you want CDs, look over at the Zopa model. You might even find me on the Zopa mainpage.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

if it's rates that's important, look at credit unions, like DCU. they're not that great in service, but their rates beat banks.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Absolutely this. Credit Unions > Banks.

[ron_newman]

USAlliance in Porter Square is a credit union. I don't know much else about them, other than that they ran bizarre hippie-themed ads in subway cars and stations.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

I assume that this is primarily for a savings account that you want to earn interest and build up over time.

Emigrant Direct is good, so is ING. You might also try looking into an E*Trade banking account, or some other online bank. If you have a 401(k) or some other savings, it might make sense to put savings into an account with the same company -- they'll often waive fees based on the sum of all your accounts with them.

good options

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Hmm. These do make sense. This account would mainly be to save money, so yes higher interest rates would be very important...This may have evolved beyond "Davis" a bit, but this is good feedback.

I am still curious about opinions on Central Bank though? Credit Unions may be a great idea as well. I'll look up DCU and what else is around the area.

Just to explain - I really want to save money in a bank/CU that I have to make it a point to go to get money out of. I don't want a Debit Card or anything linking it to my checking. Its to save. I get paid once a month, so I can make it a point to physically deposit the money when I need to.

I want to keep this Savings "away" from my other accounts simply to make it a bit harder to spend. Maybe this sounds silly, but I need to play games with myself to save money.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

Seriously, no sense in having a local account for savings when they'll pay you 0.25% interest (http://www.centralbk.com/site/prodrates_personal_rates.html). The going rate (http://bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm&params=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=2) is more than 15 times as much. It's easy to transfer money to/from the savings from/to your local account. Much as I like to shop locally, you're just throwing money away with a local savings account...

E-banking

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

so true..i'm sold..I will research these E-Banks

[uberjay.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. I have a Schwab investor checking account, and it's really the best ever, especially since I already had a Schwab brokerage account. They waive all ATM fees (ok, read the fine print—it's not all, but pretty much every one I've ever used has been refunded to me), and have a decent rate. It's possible ING may have a slightly better rate, though.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

OK, I'll bite. I have an ING savings account 'attached' to my Wainwright checking account. As mentioned, much better interest rates. You have to go to the ING site to move money from savings to checking, so you can't be tempted to withdraw at your ATM until you've done so first.
If you are referred by a current ING holder (say, ME) and open an account with minimum $250, they will give you $25 and give me $10. I've found the process very easy and great rates, currently 3% APY. NO hidden fees, no minimum (except when opening you need the $250 and a referral IF you want the $25)
All that's needed is you give me an email address, they'll email an offer to you.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Seconded. ING is great. It's just free money.

ING me

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

i need to look through this with non-tired eyes..but my email address is mavcourt at gmail dot com

I like the extra step required to withdraw at an atm..that's good enough for me. So, can you tell me if once I get this set up, I could just transfer $ from my Sovereign Bank account into my ING when I get paid (I don't have direct deposit anyways) and that's really it?

If it looks good tomorrow, I'll definitely take advantage of this deal. Sounds like a win-win.

Thanks

Re: ING me

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Yes - you give ING your Sovereign checking account number to set up the account. They will send a tiny deposit, like a $1, to confirm the links. Then you get a password, etc, log on whenever, to check balances or transfer money, in either direction, whenever you direct it. It's pretty straightforward. If you want you can set up something monthly, like your own internal direct-deposit. It doesn't depend on you already having direct deposit, though. I don't even know if I have online access to my Wainwright money, so it doesn't depend on that, either.

I just gave them your email, so you should see something soon. They won't tell me if you do join, or how much you deposit - I'll just see that someone I referred has made me an extra $10. So if you do join - thanks!

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

check this page out. ING and Emigrant are not close to the highest rate...

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=2

[leko.livejournal.com]

I use central bank as my primary bank and ING for savings. I really like central. It's small enough that it's still easy to get things done, and it's on the major ATM networks (SUM and some other ones) so many ATMs in the area are completely free.

Central Bank

[303-5.livejournal.com]

I use Central Bank and think it's great. The facility is nice; the staff is friendly, helpful and efficient; and it doesn't get too crowded. I've never had any problems.

[bryghtrose.livejournal.com]

I *hate* central bank. My wallet was stolen in December 07 Central Bank, especially the manager at the Davis Sq. branch was rude and unhelpful. They made it impossible to cancel my debit card until a business day, they made a traumatic experience worse than it had to be.

If you want to save, go with ING.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I don't understand all the love for ING here. Sure, they've got a better rate than a local bank (by about 15x), but they're not even in the top 25 for non-local banking. That's not a huge difference, but why not pick up the extra $10/year or whatever. I typically jump ship to a new internet bank about once every couple of years when I can improve my rate by about half a point or so. Of the banks that I've tried (CountryWide, VirtualBank, OneUnited, and a few more), there was only one I left over customer service issues (OneUnited), the rest are pretty interchangeable as far as I can tell.

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I am overwhelmed with all of this information...but this is all very helpful! I really didn't know much about any of this. A lot of stuff for me to look through.

[kevshindig.livejournal.com]

I work there, so I may be biased (full disclosure), but www.moneyaisle.com just launched a new system to get rates on high-yield savings accounts. It's worth checking out.

[technoluddite.livejournal.com]

Salem Five is a somewhat local (i.e. Salem, Boston, Malden) bank that offers rather competitive rates. If you sign up through the Salem Five Direct (http://www.salemfivedirect.com/) web site, you can get a high-interest (3.00%) checking account, with no minimum balance, and free foreign ATM use. The "eOne" checking account isn't advertised in their branch offices, or on their main (www.salemfive.com) site.

The rates of an internet-only bank, plus brick-and-mortar service.

I do most of my banking online; but have written paper checks, and gone to the brick-and-mortar branches in Malden and downtown Boston. Customer service so far has been great. I've had the eOne account for over six months, and recently dumped my other checking accounts. My only gripe is with their online bill payment system: it's functional, but it's not elegant. Oh, and they don't handle foreign currency.