Savings Square?

[Blue Leader]

Hey everyone, what's up? I am a noob here & have been reading non-stop since I found this site 3 days ago. Great info!

My eyes have been opened to a lot of things just from reading this forum. Namely, I realize what a joke my US Bank Savings account is. I would really like to open a savings account online. I have read that many of you recommend ING and HSBC. However, it seems to make sense to open an account that's still paying over 5%. That said, UFB and Savings Square are two I'm really considering. I've read reviews on UFB but can't find much at all on SS...probably cause it's fairly new. Can I get some reviews on SS please??!

Thanks again for all the great content everyone!

[sweeps]

I would be surprised if anyone here has opened an account with them... they are very new. I would shy away from any online bank that has not been open at least a year. Particularly if they're not guaranteeing their rate for a particular amount of time.

[Ima saver]

I never heard of them!

[Broken Arrow]

I don't personally care for ING or HSBC.

Have you checked out Poundwise's list?

[cptacek]

Also, you might have local banks that match or exceed the internet savings accounts. I have a checking account that I get 6% on up to $25,000 and all I have to do is have 10 electronic transactions a month (direct deposit, bill pay, ATM withdrawals, all count). This is now my bill paying checking account and my savings/emergency fund, and I have mine set up to do the 10 automatically or within the course of the month paying the regular bills. I have another checking account for my "slush" money, (gas, food, clothing, everything else not a direct monthly bill) so I don't accidentally spend my savings.

I'm in Kansas, and my bank, Equity Bank, covers Kansas or Missouri. I've heard of others in different parts of the country on this forum...

[Broken Arrow]

Wow. A 6% checking account!

[Blue Leader]

I don't personally care for ING or HSBC.

Have you checked out Poundwise's list?

Yeah I have checked out his amazing list...that's where I found out about UFB and SS. I like the idea of signing up with ING or HSBC because of the great reviews, but I just can't justify signing up for 1% less than what SS is offering. (and it FDIC)

I know it's pretty new, I was just wanting to see if anyone here has used SS and if it is worthwhile.

[m3racer]

Bankrate gives it a 4-star rating which makes it pretty safe in my book. A much better choice than many of the banks that are listed on page 1. Also, check out the online review at getting green. It was given a positive review except that it's fairly new. I plan on using them in the future if their rates remain competitive.

[m3racer]

Bump...has anyone used them yet?

[Broken Arrow]

Interesting you should bump this.

I really liked Saving Square's simple approach, high interest rate, and no minimums and fees. It's all I can ask for in a savings account without all the extra junk attached. So, I sent off $100 to see what happens.

So far, it's the best web-implemented e-savings I've seen yet. What makes it so well-designed, in my opinion, isn't obvious. It's just that they have subtle details regarding how it works that I just haven't seen in other types of savings. I really can't explain it, and it may bother others. It certainly bothered me at first....

I should add that it takes a few days to set up, especially if you have to do a deposit verification when you link your external accounts. Also, the initial deposit is held for 10 BUSINESS DAYS before it becomes available. Finally, in order to get next business day transfer, the account you're transferring from must have at least $750. Otherwise, they have a "normal" transfer time of up to 3 business days.

Actually, these niggling little details almost made me give up and try Apple Bank instead. But then I stopped to think about it, and realized that it's designed the way it is because this is also the most highly-developed implementation I've seen thus far; clearly derived from past web bank design experience. It make sense seeing as how the website was created by a firm that specialized in banking websites.

I would personally recommend Saving Square if you're the kind of person that wants a simple, no-frills, almost dull (but I prefer "contemporary minimalism" ) savings account, you like to do it online and mostly on your own, AND you can get past a few design quirks. If not, I would recommend to keep looking.

Finally, if you want next day transfer right away, I also recommend that you start with at least $750. Oh, one last tidbit: Be careful what you choose when you choose your ID during setup. As far as I know, you can't change it after that (at least through the website that I know of).

[m3racer]

I've never read anywhere that Kirkpatrick bank is a "firm that specializes in banking websites." Nor do I think this is "the most highly developed implementation" system for online banking. Thanks for your input but I'm not sure where you're getting this info from.

[Broken Arrow]

Kirkpatrick bank owns the Savings Square program, but I had thought that Digital Insight developed the website itself. Now looking back at it, I could be wrong. However, as the link shows, they do provide specialized services that is geared towards internet banking among other things.

[m3racer]

Thanks for the link Broken Arrow.....but how does one determine if an online savings bank is safe?

[Broken Arrow]

To check for authenticity, I use FDIC's bank find. You should be able to find Kirkpatrick Bank just by the name alone.

Next, I usually run a whois check to make sure that the website's domain registration matches the banking institution. In this case, it goes back to Kirkpatrick bank, which is correct.

So, as far as this average Joe can tell, Saving Square is authentic. Of course, even if it is genuine, it's no guarantee of good service. So, what I recommend is to place a small amount in there for at least one month, and make sure that you can indeed put money in, get money back out, and earn interest. This will also help double check its authenticity.

Having said all that, I set mine up only a couple of weeks ago, so I'm also in the process of verifying it myself. As such, I can not-- and therefore will not-- vouch for Saving Square in any way. Caveat Emptor.

[m3racer]

Here's what Mat Paulson had to say about Savings Square on his financial blog.


August 26, 2007 By Matthew Paulson

Every few months another one of the United States’ thousands of banks will open an online division and offer a savings account with a decent interest rate, giving the consumers more choice than ever before. Recently Kirkpatrick Bank decided to open an online division called SavnigsSquare.com which is offering no minimum savings accounts at an interest rate of 5.10%.

The terms of the Savings Square online savings account are pretty typical. There’s a minimum opening deposit of $1.00 and a maximum opening deposit of $100,000. There are no monthly fees or any minimum required balance required and they deliver your monthly statements electronically. Savings Square will not perform a hard-credit pull, meaning that there will be no effect on your credit score for opening this account. The online savings account offered is FDIC insured.

Perhaps the single most compelling reason to open an account with Savings Square is that there are no limitations to the number of external checking and savings accounts you can link to. This will allow you to deposit and withdraw money to any of your accounts without much hassle. Many online savings banks limit consumers to just one or two external accounts. In addition, Savings Square allows people to deposit and withdraw money from external accounts, meaning that you can be at your local bank and transfer money to your Savings Square online savings account.

The application process is very straight forward and can all be done online. They use the CashEdge transaction system, so if you’ve used that at all before, the process will be very similar. The banks’ website says they may request copies of documents when you open an account, so you might have to mail in a couple of things, which isn’t too big of a hassle.

Unfortunately the account does not currently offer any sign-up bonus to speak off, and you won’t have check-writing privileges or an ATM card to use. The account it self seems to be a reasonable and decent product, but there’s no compelling reason to open an account with Savings Square over any of the other online savings banks, such as Emigrant Direct, HSBC Direct, and ING Direct. The features and interest rates can be had at other banks, and with Savings Square you’re dealing with a relatively new online savings bank, so you don’t know what kind of growing pains they’re going to have.

If Savings Square really wants to attract more customers, they’re going to have to offer a more competitive interest rate or provide another compelling reason to get people to move their savings to Savings Square.