VirtualBank eMoney Market Saving Account Information Sheet and Opinions

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Direct Link: http://www.virtualbank.com/bc_esav_virtual.asp
Current APR: 4.60% APY
Interest Compounding: Compounded daily and credited monthly.
Minimum to open: $100
Minimum to avoid monthly service charge: None.
Other fees of note: Close-out in first 90 days fee of $50.00 (No min, so just leave open for 90 days)
Download formats available: .ofx/.qif/.csv files2
Number of external bank account links allowed: 4
Routing Number: 067092200
Opening Bonuses: $20 referral bonus

Deposit Hold Times: (from the VB site) A 10 business day hold is placed on funds deposited into your account during the first 30 days. Every day is a business day, except Saturdays, Sundays and Federal Holidays. After 30 days, a 3 business day hold will apply to deposits.

Safety of Deposits: VirtualBank is a division of Lydian Private Bank, which is FDIC insured (certificate) up to $100,000. Still, this does not mean all banks are the same. BankRate.com’s Safe & Sound Rating assesses banks’ relative financial conditions. Lydian Private Bank has a rating of 4 out of 5 stars (“Sound” condition).

How to add or remove an external link:
– To add, send them a voided personal check with your name and address on it, and drawn against the account you want linked.
– To add or remove, also fill out this official form (pdf) and send to the address on the bottom.

Contact Information:
Email: info@virtualbank.com
Mail:
VirtualBank
PO Box 109638
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

Phone:
To send account related or confidential information, log in to your account, select ‘message center’. Each person is assigned their own ‘Personal Banker’, and their specific number is shown.

Customer Service Opinion: Good. I have called Virtualbank before, to inquire about their interest rate tiers when they rolled them out. They answered the phone quickly and were pretty knowledgable. I also get online messages from them confirming after I’ve requested to link a new account that it has been done.

User interface Opinion: Again, it works. It took me forever to find the ‘Download Transactions’ link, but you can see it on the screenshot clearly on the right. It just looked like a title to me for some reason (I’m going blind, I know).

VirtualBank Screen Capture

Other things to note: VirtualBank’s combination of 4 allowed external bank links, and shorter 3 day hold time compared to other banks, makes this a very useful bank for me when I want to transfer money between various different accounts online. The interest rate is also consistently high enough to remain somewhat competitive.

2 .ofx is Microsoft Money’s current format, .qfx is Quicken 2005+ format, .qif is Quicken 2004 and older and also older MS Money format, .csv is Comma Separated Values which is a more generic spreadsheet format.

(Post updated as of 2/18/06)

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Comments

  1. Hi

    I really like this site. I’m quite a newbie to the world of personal finance although I’m in my twenties already. What about Emigrant Direct Savings? I think they’re doing 3.5 percent APY. Have you looked into it yet?

    I am considering the premier bank savings and checking account as well. The only caveat that i might have with that is that I hardly see premier bank ATMs anywhere near where I live. Since I travel alot for my job, there’s a constant need for ATM withdrawals and looks like I’d have to use other banks ATMs and get charged for it. Have you had any problems with this? Thanks so much!

  2. Thanks Thia – Give me 15 minutes, I’m almost done with the Emgrant Info-sheet 😉 I also did a review of the account here.

    I have multiple accounts for each purpose, I keep a local Bank of America account for ATM access and check/cash deposits.

  3. I checked out the Presidential Bank link and there site is terrible. It makes me nervous to give my money to a bank site that doesn’t even have a decent web site. Although I am in the web solutions field so perhaps I am biased. Are they a sound online bank?

  4. I am wondering how to use VB to transfer money between several accounts online. It seems that VB requires check to add the external link, and most online bank, such as EmigrantDirect, doesn’t provide any check.
    Thank you.

  5. bigman8424 says

    I just started the VirutalBank account and logged in with $100 minimum. How long does it usually take for the $20.00 bonus to be credited to the account?

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