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More Alternatives to Banking
by kim
6. More Banking Options From Walmart
Sure, there are plenty of Walmart haters out there, but the store has a lot of fans as well, and as we've noted before on WalletPop, Walmart is increasingly looking like a bank, even if they're not allowed to be one in the technical sense of the word. Last July, Walmart began offering small business loans to its Sam's Club customers, and at Walmart, you can apply for credit cards and debit cards and perform other transaction you would do at a standard bank, such as check cashing, merchant processing, money transfer and even some things banks don't do, like tax preparation. And while the year's still young and Walmart hasn't made any banking announcements for 2011, this is more of a prediction than a fact, but look for Walmart to continue innovating how it markets to both banking customers and especially the "unbanked" (those who don't have their own bank).
7. Electronic Social Security Deposits Starting May 1
Most people already get their Social Security checks deposited into their bank accounts, but now everyone with a checking account at a bank or credit union, like it or not, will receive their benefits this way, although apparently, there are some loopholes people can get around if someone's unbanked or if they have some other reason they still have to get their benefits mailed to them. (You can also opt to go with having your money put into Direct Express, a MasterCard debit account from Comerica Bank.)
Even if you hate this idea, there's a lot to like about it, isn't there? Provided you have a bank account, it's definitely easier and more efficient to have money directly deposited into your account. It's also estimated that this will save the government $1 billion a year. For people worried about the deficit, well, this can only help.
8. Better Customer Service
In an era where some customers, or ex-customers, actually put up sites denegrating banks, like BankofAmericaSux.com, banks understand just how much anger there is out there. (By the way, Prime Performance, a company that helps businesses become well liked, recently came out with a survey showing that Regions Bank is considered the friendliest bank; Capital One and Chase came in last).
Granted, every bank manager is different, and maybe the awareness that customers are angry won't mean a hill of beans to some executives and staff out there, but it seems logical to expect in 2011 that banks will make a better effort to make their customers as happy as possible. If nothing else, bankers have got to know that if they drive every customer away, they'll have nobody left to nickel and dime to death.
9. More Ways Than Ever to Manage Your Bank Account
Not to take away anything from Mint.com, but there are plenty of other online financial management tools out there, too, from Thrive and Buxfer to, as we just mentioned in a recent post, Payoff.com, which debuted Jan. 5 of this year. Expect more services to make a splash in 2011, like GreenSherpa.com, which mixes banking and online gaming and hasn't yet launched (although you can send in your address to get an email invite when the beta version is unveiled).
10. More Alternatives to Banking
True, we've been dancing around this idea for several paragraphs now, mentioning Walmart earlier, and how angry customers have been at banks. If you're one of those who are fed up with your bank, you can definitely be happy that there are more ways than ever to leave your bank and find a way to bank without an actual bank. For instance, there's been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about BankSimple, which is launching in 2011. It's a debit card that's meant to replace your brick-and-mortar and online personal bank. While we've no idea how effective or popular it'll be -- and I'm not recommending ditching your favorite or even unfavorite financial institution -- I'm sure some people will want to check out BankSimple.
Why? Their marketing campaign seems to be largely predicated on the idea that, "Hey, we're not a bank."
Sure, there are plenty of Walmart haters out there, but the store has a lot of fans as well, and as we've noted before on WalletPop, Walmart is increasingly looking like a bank, even if they're not allowed to be one in the technical sense of the word. Last July, Walmart began offering small business loans to its Sam's Club customers, and at Walmart, you can apply for credit cards and debit cards and perform other transaction you would do at a standard bank, such as check cashing, merchant processing, money transfer and even some things banks don't do, like tax preparation. And while the year's still young and Walmart hasn't made any banking announcements for 2011, this is more of a prediction than a fact, but look for Walmart to continue innovating how it markets to both banking customers and especially the "unbanked" (those who don't have their own bank).
7. Electronic Social Security Deposits Starting May 1
Most people already get their Social Security checks deposited into their bank accounts, but now everyone with a checking account at a bank or credit union, like it or not, will receive their benefits this way, although apparently, there are some loopholes people can get around if someone's unbanked or if they have some other reason they still have to get their benefits mailed to them. (You can also opt to go with having your money put into Direct Express, a MasterCard debit account from Comerica Bank.)
Even if you hate this idea, there's a lot to like about it, isn't there? Provided you have a bank account, it's definitely easier and more efficient to have money directly deposited into your account. It's also estimated that this will save the government $1 billion a year. For people worried about the deficit, well, this can only help.
8. Better Customer Service
In an era where some customers, or ex-customers, actually put up sites denegrating banks, like BankofAmericaSux.com, banks understand just how much anger there is out there. (By the way, Prime Performance, a company that helps businesses become well liked, recently came out with a survey showing that Regions Bank is considered the friendliest bank; Capital One and Chase came in last).
Granted, every bank manager is different, and maybe the awareness that customers are angry won't mean a hill of beans to some executives and staff out there, but it seems logical to expect in 2011 that banks will make a better effort to make their customers as happy as possible. If nothing else, bankers have got to know that if they drive every customer away, they'll have nobody left to nickel and dime to death.
9. More Ways Than Ever to Manage Your Bank Account
Not to take away anything from Mint.com, but there are plenty of other online financial management tools out there, too, from Thrive and Buxfer to, as we just mentioned in a recent post, Payoff.com, which debuted Jan. 5 of this year. Expect more services to make a splash in 2011, like GreenSherpa.com, which mixes banking and online gaming and hasn't yet launched (although you can send in your address to get an email invite when the beta version is unveiled).
10. More Alternatives to Banking
True, we've been dancing around this idea for several paragraphs now, mentioning Walmart earlier, and how angry customers have been at banks. If you're one of those who are fed up with your bank, you can definitely be happy that there are more ways than ever to leave your bank and find a way to bank without an actual bank. For instance, there's been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about BankSimple, which is launching in 2011. It's a debit card that's meant to replace your brick-and-mortar and online personal bank. While we've no idea how effective or popular it'll be -- and I'm not recommending ditching your favorite or even unfavorite financial institution -- I'm sure some people will want to check out BankSimple.
Why? Their marketing campaign seems to be largely predicated on the idea that, "Hey, we're not a bank."