Online Banks

Anybody use them? As a result of signing up at Mint.com, they recommend HSBC Direct and Charles Schwab. Both are online-only banks and I like all of the features of both (no min balance, no monthly fee, etc), but one thing sticks out as a potential issue for me:

No ATM Deposits - I generally make all of my deposits at ATMs, except my paycheck which is direct deposit. HSBC does not have any ATM's in Indiana, and neither does Schwab. When I get a check I want to deposit it and not have to wait a week for it to be sent through the mail to be deposited.

What do you guys think about these online-only banks?

Tags: banks, online

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Permalink Reply by Eric Enochs on July 31, 2008 at 4:32pm: I use HSBC's High Yield Savings account. I only use it to store extra savings that I want to earn more interest than a typical savings account. I get about 3.50 Annual percentage on it which is 3 times more than a typical savings account.

I don't think I would be comfortable using them as my primary bank. I would need to physically see a bank so I could yell at them for screwing up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by William on July 31, 2008 at 4:35pm: I have a Capital One High Yield Money Market account for online savings. When I opened it about 6-9 months ago the APR was 4.5%. Now it's just under 3%.

Of course I have no money in it right now, but I'm working on that. :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bravo on July 31, 2008 at 5:02pm: I wouldn't do a full blown online bank for that exact reason. We have to deposit money way too much to not have a local place to deposit.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by William on July 31, 2008 at 5:13pm: I'm thinking these online banks are targeted towards people who can wait a week or two for their money to be deposited. I'd like to get there some day 'cause I'd love to earn 2-3% on the money sitting in my checking account without having to have $10k min balance!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nick Reich on July 31, 2008 at 11:22pm: I use HSBC direct. They give you an ATM card and you can withdraw money without paying a fee. You wouldn't be able to deposit money into an HSBC ATM, however, you can link an existing account to a new HSBC account and transfer money as you see fit, without paying any fees. It usually takes about 3 days for the money to transfer. I use local banks for day to day use, and use the HSBC account as a savings with interest. Hope this helps.; ▶ Reply to This