Not Impressed With E-Trade

Ok, so I opened this blog talking about saving and determining which virtual bank that I was going to go with to start that savings plan. As you know, I choose E-Trade. And I made a fatal mistake. I focused on one singular aspect when I was making my decision...interest rate.

So what exactly has happened that has made me decide that I have made a mistake? Nothing major. My initial $25 deposit was taken from my funding account, just like E-Trade stated. I received a huge package in the mail detailing my account information, again, just as E-Trade stated. But when I log into my E-Trade account, it states that my account balance is $0.00.

Now, at first, I thought, "Oh, it will just take a few days before my initial deposit is reflected online." And then a few days turned into a week. A week turned into two and then, I finally lost my patience, after two weeks mind you, that I needed to really look and try to find out just where the heck my $25 was located at.

I realized after much searching, that my login to E-Trade took me to the investing page and since I did not have an investment account with E-Trade, of course my balance would be zero. But then I really looked around and found that I needed to allow access to my online account by entereing my social security number, account number, and zip code. So let me get this right, I opened the account online. I deposited money through an online transfer, but I need to sign up to access my account online? Didn't I kinda, sorta, I don't know, done that already? I mean all the entering of information and emails and stuff, doesn't that give you the level of security that you need.

Look, I am all for keeping my money safe. But extra steps to verify information that is basically already verified is not necessary.

And after careful review of the lack of usability of the site in general from opening the account to accessing the account online has been woefully un-user friendly. So, while I was buying because the rate HAD BEEN 4.40% and now stands at 4.10% because of the Fed rate cuts. I am now selling because, frankly, I don't need the headaches.

So, as of today. I am sacking E-Trade and moving my alliances to ING Direct. I had used ING years ago when virtual banking was just getting started and ING was basically the only "known" name at that time. I closed the account after a year because I wasn't really using it. Now it is time to give it another shot. I will take usability over an additional .70% in rate. At this time, I don't have the kind of money that will make the difference meaningful at this time. When or if, it does become a factor, well, we will have to cross that bridge when we get there.

Opened My E-Trade Savings Account & Review

I opened my online E-Trade account this evening and made sure that my initial $25 deposit was heading in the new accounts direction. I had been planning on waiting until I got paid on Friday but I thought it was ok to open the account and make the deposit just a few days early.

The first thing I noticed is that the rate the savings account pays has dropped from 5.05% APY to 4.40% APY. Darn Ben Bernanke and the Fed!

My experience was ok. It was not quite as user friendly as I would have liked. When I clicked on, "Open an Account" it took me to an area to enter my personal information and set to get my user name and password completed.

Then, onto a page that led basically to nowhere. It took me a couple of false starts to actually get to where I was to determine what kind of account I wanted to open with E-Trade. I had to enter all the same personal information (pretty frustrating) and additional information such as social security and other tax relevant information.

Then I could finally enter my external account and get the account officially opened. Once on the confirmation page E-Trade gave me a timeline including that I should be getting some kind of "kit" in the mail in the next 5-7 business days.

I'll keep you updated and see how the experience is once everything is up and running.

My initial reponse, on a 5 star scale, would be about 2.25 stars. Not overly impressive and I lost some of my excitement because I became frustrated with the site.

Hopefully, the future looks brighter than today!

Virtual Banking and Savings Rates

Ok, so if we are going to make it a goal here at Deals That Matter to save money, we have to make the most of the money we save. That means we must find good rates for the money we save. The best way of doing that at this time, that I know of is using a virtual, or online bank.

I have compared three of the larger online banks that tout higher interest rates.




HSBC, which offers a rate currently of 4.25% with no minimum balances, total online access, unlimited bank accounts that can be linked and only a $1 deposit to start with is a good place to start.

Please read this review of opening a HSBC Direct account here. This process seems a little to involved and time consuming for me. But I guess that it is in the name of security. I just think that it is odd for an account opening to take almost two weeks for the author to be able to view/access his accounts.

Too much hassle for a good rate, just not the best right now.







ING is probably the original online bank. I had an account way back in 2001 with them and had nothing but good things to say. I guess that I also currently have an account with them that the company recently acquired Sharebuilder.

Right now the rate is 4.10%. Also no minimum is required to start an account.

Customer service is all about security. I don't know about the rumors that were spread about the company closing accounts for customers that caused too much work for them.

But right now, the winner of the online banking savings rate is........






E-Trade is offering a whopping 5.05% savings rate with no minimums. Their rate has stayed constant while the others rates have dropped as the Fed has cut interest rates. The company is trying to win back some business.

You're seeing a lot of television commercials touting 1,000 new accounts opened per day. Why such a big push? Well, the companies stock tanked after they too announced they were neck deep in all that sub-prime mortgage write off stuff that has been sweeping many of the big banks.

So E-Trade needs the business to help restore their investor confidence. The savings rate they currently offer is just on off shoot of that need.

There are many other banks out there that would love to compete for your savings. You may even know of a few that can offer even better deals that what I have posted here. Let us know. Again, we want to make this a community.


Full Disclosure: Deals That Matter is not affiliated with any of the companies listed in this article.