Incredible Bank is a teeny tiny division of a teeny tiny bank in Wisconsin, that has consistently offered very attractive interest rates on deposit accounts.
Last year, they were offering a checking account that paid 1.35% with “no pain.”
They even reimburse ATM fees nationally and offer free bill pay.
However, like most banks, they have some fees. And they warn that some fees might reduce earnings.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Just how painful are the fees?
*MOUSE PRINT:
They charge $20 per check? On a checking account? That’s pretty painful. Their explanation is that they offer free ATM withdrawals and free bill payments, so to keep costs low, they want to discourage the use of checks. So why is it called a checking account? A bank representative said it was because you could get checks printed on your own and use them with this account, thus providing a means of paying others.
As long as you didn’t write a check it was a great deal. Return is better than a CD.
What is ‘Account Research’? Does it mean if you have a dispute that needs to be researched they charge you?
Nothing “credible” about this bank! The name says it all.
Sounds like a good deal, you just have to really understand what you’re getting. Maybe they could call it an “electronic checking” account because they’re not really giving you a paper option (for checks or billing).
@Ron – Typically ‘Account Research’ would be a situation such as the account holder cannot cannot find their statement from a few years ago and asks the bank to go find a copy for you in their off-site document storage warehouse. The fee covers the cost of maintaining the facility and the labor to dig up your document. ‘Disputes’ are entirely different and, during my 12 years in the industry, I’ve never seen a bank charge for that. In fact I believe there are regulations preventing a fee for disputes.
I’ve used this bank for a few years now and have had nothing but positive experiences with them. They’ve never missed a scheduled payment, transfers handled promptly, customer service has been competent and helpful. As to fees, I don’t think it is fair to blame the bank if people get hit with fees because they didn’t take the time to read the literature and know what kind of account they are opening.
BTW, I have both money market and checking accounts with them.
I agree with Charli. They should just it “electronic checking”.
I am old school and want to write a check on a piece of paper…… Not have to pay 20 bucks extra to do it…..
and 15 bucks for a paper statement!?!?!?!?!?!
That is highway robbery….
@Richard Ginn: Paper checks are expensive to handle. Sometimes “old school” ways can get pretty expensive. Clearly, this bank REALLY wants to do everything electronically and has set their fee schedule accordingly. If the bank makes sure that people understand its fees before they sign up for an account, I don’t have a huge problem with what they are doing. However, I do appreciate Mr. Consumer highlighting their account fees. If you want paper statements or the ability to write paper checks, you definitely want to use a different bank.
Paper will soon be passe and folks should start to make adjustments to their payment behaviors now. Financial institutions encourage electronic payment for the efficiency it presents. Of course I am 100% sure that when we are all eventually paperless then fees will be added. Even Social Security will soon be paperless. I no longer have any bills I pay via check.
I used to make car payments to SST and they charged $5 to make a payment online but free if I mailed a paper check by mail. I still can’t make sense of that.
I’m a fan of truth in advertising.
Incredible Bank should change the name of that particular account to “The Incredibly Painful Checking Account If You Like To Write Checks” Account.