Anyone use IGO Banking?

[Jazzmint98]

Has anyone had experience with IGO Banking? I have been considering using that for an online savings account. I currently have ING Direct, but with the recent rate drop I didn't know if I should switch. If so, which one would you recommend?

[humandraydel]

I haven't looked at IGO but Countrywide has a savings account at 5.5%. I'm thinking of switching from ING to Countrywide.

[poundwise]

I haven't looked at IGO but Countrywide has a savings account at 5.5%. I'm thinking of switching from ING to Countrywide.

Note: 5.5% APY is valid if you maintain a ADB of $50,000 - $249,999.

Accounts with at least $10,000 ADB earn 5.25% and below $10,000 only earn 1.25% APY.

[safari]

Note: 5.5% APY is valid if you maintain a ADB of $50,000 - $249,999.

Accounts with at least $10,000 ADB earn 5.25% and below $10,000 only earn 1.25% APY.

You must be referring to the their regular savings account. SavingsLink has higher rates: link.

[98tegRS]

I use IGO Banking. Their rates dropped to 5.17, they were offering an 8-month CD @ 5.40% with a minimum deposit of $500. That has also dropped to 5%. The transfer times are okay..not the best, but it works for me.
I have not had any issues with them.

[poundwise]

You must be referring to the their regular savings account. SavingsLink has higher rates: link.

Ah, so I see. Yes, I didn't recognize the difference between "savings" and "SavingsLink." Thanks for the correction.

Even so, with the SavingsLink account it still takes $10K+ ADB to earn 5.5%. Less than $10K ADB earns only 4.0%.

If you intend to keep $10K in, then this is a great deal, otherwise, there are many options that exceed 4.0%.

[Skooby]

There are many options that exceed 4.0%.

Ahhhhhhhhh, I probably am going to open up an account with GMAC, even though they are at 4.9% for an EF.

The reason is I like the debit card feature. I can't find anyone else that has it. Do you know of any other online MMA that has a debit card. I've only found GMAC.

[poundwise]

...I like the debit card feature. I can't find anyone else that has it. Do you know of any other online MMA that has a debit card. I've only found GMAC.

UFB Direct has ATM card access on their online savings account, with reimbursement, similar to GMAC.

At OneUnited, ATM access is optional but apparently doesn't take anything but a request to obtain. They do not mention ATM reimbursement but do state that you can access over 5,000 ATMs without a charge.

Presidential Bank states that they offer free ATM access too, as does FNBO.


Note: These types of deposit accounts are limited to six withdrawals per cycle. I do not know for certain if debit/ATM withdrawals count toward that limit but I suspect that they do. You may to look into that more closely if your intent is to be able to pull money out frequently.

[Skooby]

UFB Direct has ATM card access on their online savings account, with reimbursement, similar to GMAC.

At OneUnited, ATM access is optional but apparently doesn't take anything but a request to obtain. They do not mention ATM reimbursement but do state that you can access over 5,000 ATMs without a charge.

Presidential Bank states that they offer free ATM access too, as does FNBO.


Note: These types of deposit accounts are limited to six withdrawals per cycle. I do not know for certain if debit/ATM withdrawals count toward that limit but I suspect that they do. You may to look into that more closely if your intent is to be able to pull money out frequently.

This is probably a minor issue and maybe i'm being picky. But debit cards can be used in stores to make purchases as well as atm machines, whereas with an atm card you have to go to an atm machine and withdraw money. Am I interpreting this wrong? From GMAC website they say "check card"

From the understanding of how i'm reading everything and from the list in the "online saving and interest" thread, GMAC is the only one with this type of card.

Now i'm not going to purchase anything, and not withdraw money. It's only for emergency purchases. But i was just thinking maybe in an emergency, if I need to purchase something in a hurry, that I could just go to the store or wherever and just get it, without stopping at an atm.

I think to much, it's probably not a big deal.

[poundwise]

This is probably a minor issue and maybe i'm being picky. But debit cards can be used in stores to make purchases as well as atm machines, whereas with an atm card you have to go to an atm machine and withdraw money. Am I interpreting this wrong? From GMAC website they say "check card"

From the understanding of how i'm reading everything and from the list in the "online saving and interest" thread, GMAC is the only one with this type of card.

Now i'm not going to purchase anything, and not withdraw money. It's only for emergency purchases. But i was just thinking maybe in an emergency, if I need to purchase something in a hurry, that I could just go to the store or wherever and just get it, without stopping at an atm.

I think to much, it's probably not a big deal.

You are right in that GMAC is the only one I could see that offers a VISA debit card.

As for ATM cards, they can be used for purchases most of the time as well. Instead of requiring a signature, you simply enter your PIN, but yes, most of the time we associate ATM cards with the basic concept of withdrawing money from a machine.

I question the value of this feature, however, the GMAC offering is a good account anyway so I don't see the VISA debit card hurts anything. The only caveat I could think of is that you want to take care of that card. Imagine if someone stole the debit card tied to your savings account. Yikes!

[safari]

The best feature of the GMAC account is that it comes with free check writing (up to 3 checks per month), so I can pay large bills directly from the savings account instead of transferring money to checking, which helps me earn more interest.

[m3racer]

IGO has questionable online security according to a Getting Green review. They have many reviews of the current online savings accounts. Check out the website. I'm not sure why anyone would want to use Countrywide. They were recently in the news because they needed to get bailed out with all the foreclosures. Also, they're not even rated by bankrate since this occurred. Prior to the incident they only had a 2-star rating.

[Skooby]

Check out the website.

Could you post a link? I can't find a website. Gettinggreen.com is some plant stuff.

[m3racer]

I can't seem to post a link. Do a search for Mat Paulson. He writes most of the blogs.

[poundwise]

I found the review.

In it, he writes, "IGO Banking also has some rather questionable security measures. When you sign into your account, you are submitting your username and password un-encrypted over the internet."

This is not true. In fact, a check reveals high-grade encryption (AES-256 256 bit.)

I also found that this author stubbornly defends using ING over all other online savings options; a position that I certainly don't agree with. I'm sure that, through his blog, he is able to generate some ING referrals (a recommendation for ING and a referral link appears at the bottom of each review) and that may play in part, perhaps unwittingly, in his opinion and review.