There are a number of benefits to using Century Bank Direct for your banking needs (they offer online checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and cd’s) but there is one fairly large disadvantage: Century Bank Direct does not currently support bank to bank transfers.  What does that mean for you?  Simply that you can’t access your cash by having it transferred to your bricks and mortar bank account, and you can’t make a deposit from another bank account through a bank transfer.

That being said, Century Bank Direct is working with their online banking provider to set up bank to bank transfers very soon, to make it easier to deposit and withdraw money from your accounts. If you currently have a bank elsewhere that allows you to complete online bill pay, you can set Century Bank Direct as the payee and deposit money that way; or if you have a bank that allows account-to-account transfers, you can use it to initiate a transfer to withdraw money from one of your Century Bank Direct accounts, as well.

Online Checking Accounts: Currently earning 3.35% APY up to the first $50,000 in your account, Century Bank Direct is offering a competitive interest rate.  You’ll receive 50 free checks upon opening your online checking account, and you can request a Visa debit card.  If you use your debit card at another bank that charges a fee for doing so, Century Bank Direct will refund the ATM surcharges up to 5 times per month.

Online Savings Accounts: Currently earning 3.41% APY up to the first $50,000 saved in your account.  Century Bank Direct allows you to make withdrawals from your savings account by calling or emailing customer service – they will mail you a check.  If you have another bank that offers account-to-account transfers, you can initiate the withdrawal through that bank and receive money that way.  Three withdrawals per month are allowed; any withdrawals beyond that will be subject to a fee of $5.95.

Online Money Market Accounts: Currently earning 3.57% APY.  You receive 50 free checks when you open your account, and can make 3 withdrawals per month for free.  Withdrawals beyond that will be subject to a $5.95 withdrawal fee.

15 Month Online CD: Currently earning 4.16% APY.  Monthly interest earned from your CD will be deposited into one of your other bank accounts, unless you choose to leave the interest in your CD to increase your APY.

Tags: century bank direct, online banking

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 1:39 am and is filed under reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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