Ads on television, radio, plastered on billboard, in newspapers, magazines, and all around the internet are touting various internet based commercial banks. Likely, you have been intrigued by these ads where interest rates on even plain old savings deposits are above four percent and most CDs over five percent. Compare their rates with the brick and mortar institutions and you have to wonder: are these banks legitimate? In most cases they are, but there are a few things you should look for and know about these types of financial institutions before entrusting them with your hard earned money.
HSBC Direct, ING Direct, Everbank, Netbank, and EmigrantBank.com are just some of the notable names you probably heard about. Just to help you rest easy, all five institutions are legitimate.
So, what about the bank you never heard about. How can you know if they are legitimate? Well, there are a few things you should look for:
--Does the bank have a U.S. base of operations? ING Direct is a huge Dutch bank but they have an American division that is approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or F.D.I.C. a name all consumers are probably familiar with.
--Speaking about the F.D.I.C., your bank should state boldly that they are “FDIC Insured” or “Member FDIC” on their site. Sure, anyone can make that claim but you can go to the FDIC site at FDIC.gov to verify that your bank is approved. Click on the “Bank Find” key and enter as much information that you know about the bank including the bank’s name, address, city, etc. The FDIC site will tell you if the bank is actively part of the FDIC or not.
--Watch out for bogus sites. Most “phishing” sites disappear almost as quickly as they arise, but that doesn’t mean that some offshore swindler can’t start a site mimicking another financial institution. Look carefully at the site and determine if extension ends in “com” or “net” and check out the various pages on that site for spelling errors, misleading information, etc.
Once you have found a bank that meets your needs, go ahead and open an account. Internet banks are booming because consumers are given a real choice well beyond what a standard bank can offer. With a very low overheard, these banks are competing for you business by passing on their savings to you. In the end, the consumer is the big winner!
Jeff is the owner of Homeowner Loan Guide one of the Uk’s leading secured loan quote providers. If you are searching for that low rate on a secured loan then visit our site today for a free no obligation quote. We provide great rates that compate to leading lenders like Abey
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