Published by Ian Lundahl on 04 Mar 2010
Following several months of new product releases, tools, and web promotions, the pace slowed across the industry this February. A few firms revamped their sites this month, and as the athletes took to the slopes in Vancouver, one firm promoted its 2010 Winter Olympics sponsorship online.
Published by Doug Miller on 09 Feb 2010
E*TRADE announced to many of its banking customers today that the firm has sold some of its existing savings accounts to Discover Bank.
According to an email from E*TRADE, clients who currently have a Complete Savings Account from E*TRADE Bank will have their accounts converted into a Discover Online Savings Account as of March 7th, 2010. E*TRADE’s email points out that other banking and brokerage accounts at the firm will be unaffected by the transfer to Discover Bank. While neither firm has yet released much information about the account conversions, a link within the E*TRADE client email leads to a welcome page from Discover Bank. Continue Reading »
Published by Nicole Cappiccille on 12 Nov 2009
A recent article on Forbes.com discusses a number of online bank account fraud anecdotes, and assesses the various ways the victims’ banks could have avoided the near catastrophic incidents simply by upgrading their online security systems. The article got us thinking about the best types of online account security offered by the Bank Monitor firms we track. It seems that although many firms offer basic online account verification features, like log-in security questions, images and codes, only a few take security to the next level when it comes to actual account navigation and individual online transactions. Continue Reading »
Published by Ian Lundahl on 11 Nov 2009
Like a trick-or-treater’s bag, heavy with an assortment of candy at the end of Halloween, this October offered a bit of everything…
Retirement gets social
After first launching a beta version in February 2008, TIAA-CREF made its retirement-focused online community, MyRetirement.org, publically available this month. MyRetirement is one of the broader online communities we have seen to date. Instead of focusing entirely on products, or featuring commentary exclusively from firm employees, TIAA-CREF provides customers with an open platform on which they can discuss retirement, as well as other topics of interest. TIAA-CREF’s decision to launch a beta version of the community was also significant; doing so allowed the firm to seed its discussion boards with user-generated content, meaning that when MyRetirement was officially opened, new users were able to join active conversations. Continue Reading »
Published by Dan Wiegand on 04 Nov 2009
While the economy appears to be recovering from a debilitating recession, millions of Americans are still struggling to make mortgage payments and stay in their homes. As recently as a few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal warned of “new mortgage-default waves” as more people lose their jobs, option ARMs reset, and home values continue to stagnate, leaving homeowners with mortgage balances higher than the value of their property.
Federal resources exist to help Americans in those circumstances, notably the Making Home Affordable refinancing and modification programs. In our recently released Consumer Financial Education Today report, we highlighted the way Chase effectively positions those government resources online alongside their own counseling and assistance initiatives, in this case via their Homeownership Center. In contrast, Bank of America’s primary Web resource for homeowners was, until recently, the elegant but not necessarily timely Home Loan Guide. The site walks users through the process of buying a home, refinancing or borrowing from home equity, but does not specifically appeal to distressed homeowners or mention government assistance. Fortunately, the firm now offers a website to address these troubled homeowners - the Home Loan Assistance center.
Published by Alisson Andrade on 14 Oct 2009
TD Bank finally launched their revamped website after hinting and making announcements about an upcoming change for several weeks. The new website features better navigational menus and updated product information; more significantly, the firm now lets users apply for accounts online. Previously, the old TD Bank site provided a general list of the firm’s product offerings, requiring prospective account holders to complete an application request form before they could apply for an account.
Published by Ian Lundahl on 05 Oct 2009
The big news for September revolves around Roth conversions. In the advisor realm, there was an influx of promotions surrounding the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity. A number of firms in our coverage groups are now supplying their advisors and brokers with new online marketing materials to help get ahead of the competition.
Published by Doug Miller on 02 Oct 2009
One of the forerunners to TD Bank in the northeast was Commerce Bank, a firm that built a reputation for excellent customer service and wide open, inviting branch locations. This week, that reputation for customer relations has been put to the test due to problems consolidating the legacy TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank backend computer systems. Continue Reading »
Published by Ian Lundahl on 17 Aug 2009
July was a time for getting back to basics, it seems, as a number of firms introduced simplified or stripped-down versions of products. Credit card firms lead the way with changes from Bank of America, Wachovia and Wells Fargo.
Published by John Cantwell on 27 Jul 2009
Providing a fresh take on a still relatively fresh idea (direct savings accounts), newcomer SmartyPig has earned significant attention thanks to its high interest rates and unique savings plans. Add to that a recent investment from Red McCombs that, according to American Banker, significantly enhances the firm’s marketing reach, and SmartyPig is suddenly a firm to watch in the online savings arena.
Below, we take a quick look at SmartyPig’s offerings and list some of its relative strengths and weaknesses. It bears mentioning that we have not opened an account with SmartyPig, and as such we have not yet viewed SmartyPig’s private site. Continue Reading »
