Anyway, like many FW'ers I've been chasing interest rates and am trying to settle on one account that pays a good rate and has a good set of features. I've moved from ING, to HSBC, to Emigrant Direct, and am now thinking this may be the best option, despite some of it's shortcomings.

It's interest rate is .01% lower than Emigrant Direct, but I must confess I got a little worried about them after reading this US News and World Report article covering internet banks, with a focus on ED, and then recent reports here on FatWallet that they may be selling email address lists.

In general they appear to be a good choice because of their relatively high interest rate, check writing, ATM access, and a minimum balance to earn interest of just $100 (though you need a $5,000 initial deposit). The biggest downside compared to many of the other internet savings accounts is that they have no facility for pushing in or out ACH transfers from what I've read.

darkhaven said:I called to cancel my account today, and the woman on the phone claimed that "major changes" were coming which included "multiple new ways to make deposits." She didn't give any more details, so I ended up cancelling, but she said the changes should be in place around Sept. 15th.Why did you cancel your account?

scott1961 said:Beckles said: The biggest downside compared to many of the other internet savings accounts is that they have no facility for pushing in or out ACH transfers from what I've read.
You can transfer in and out as long as you initiate from another bank. Yeah, that's what I mean when I say they don't have a facility to do it, I expect you can of course do it using other means.

Hopefully the above poster got good information and they will rectify this, according to the thread on the general Capital One MMA they have the ability to do some ACH transactions now.

I am a little confused.
In the FAQ: How do I fund my money market account?
After you complete your application, you have two convenient options for funding your money market account:
1. Send a check, 2. Make a wire transfer

And on the fees may reduce earning, it says $20 for "Wire transfer".

Does it mean I have to pay $20 each time I choose wire transfer to make a deposit?
Anybody have experience with it?

It does not say wire in or out, that is why I am confused.
I thought it should be only for wire out.
I may try to call them about this.

uutxs said:
Is it $20 for Wire-in or Wire-out? Many (not all) banks do not charge anything for Wires coming in. Your other bank from where you initiate the wire likley would charge you though.

So far every bank I've banked at (HSBC, Capital One Direct, WAMU, Wells Fargo, CitiBank, Commerce National (local bank), Compass) has charged incoming wire fees. Most are around $10.

The one that really gets me is WAMU, though. $10 for incoming wires, but free outgoing? Its almost as if they don't want my money. =)

darkhaven said:Where I live you can see the capital one bank from the citibank down the street. I can get 5% interest with same day deposits at the Citibank, but have to wait a week for my check to get to Capital One in the mail or pay $20 for the incoming wire fee. It makes no sense for Capital One not to offer their direct banking products as having service in branch considering that Citibank and HSBC do. If Capital One causes their product to be competitive then I'll switch back. Until then, I'd just assume have one fewer bank account in Quicken. =)I'm not trying to defend Capital One for this by any means, but just by way of explanation I believe the reason for this is that Capital One bank down the street from you may not be the same Capital One bank that the Money Market Account is held at, they have several different banks owned by the same company operating under the Capital One name (Capital One, NA, Capital One FSB, and then the old Hibernia Bank, which I'm not sure what charter they're operating under, or maybe a totally different one than those first two).

As for being "competitive", I guess that just depends on the features you want, because while it does appear the transfers in leave something to be desired, as far as I'm aware there's no other account with such low minimum balance requirements that offers check writing and ATM access to the account.

Beckles said:they have several different banks owned by the same company operating under the Capital One name (Capital One, NA, Capital One FSB, and then the old Hibernia Bank, which I'm not sure what charter they're operating under, or maybe a totally different one than those first two).

The two banks that operate under Capital One Direct and accept internet accounts are Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B. It used to be that Capital One Bank only offered jumbo CDs and Capital One FSB offered all the other accounts, but that changed a year or two ago. Now they seem to switch off every few weeks as the default bank for opening internet accounts, although you can request a specific bank at the time you open the account.

The old Hibernia is now Capital One, N.A. They cannot service your internet accounts.

Incidentally, all three banks are separate for FDIC insurance purposes.

darkhaven said:but she said the changes should be in place around Sept. 15th.Got snail mail about this. Come Sept 15th, there will be a phone access system to check balance etc.