# E-banking, is there a catch? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038 "2006-07-11T15:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/1 "2006-07-11T15:57:44Z")
I’ve been looking into placing money in an e-bank account because they offer incredibly high interest rates. For examples, at [HSBC](http://www.hsbcusa.com/) , savings account return 5.05%. Not even Certificate of Deposits get close to this, let alone typical savings accounts. It is insured and looks legit. And I know the “no overhead” angle. But there’s a “too good to be true” aspect to it all. Anyone have any experiences with this bank or other e-bank? Is it really as easy, pain-free, and lucrative as it appears? ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/2 "2006-07-11T16:26:11Z")
I’ve had an ING account for a couple years. The only pain is that it can take a day or so to transfer money back into my checking account. I never know exactly when the money’s going to get there so if I have to do a transfer, I always do it a couple days ahead. No other complaints. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/3 "2006-07-11T16:41:02Z")
I put a decent chunk of money in an account at GMAC a couple of months ago. It was pretty painless and they have great customer service to walk you through any issues. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/4 "2006-07-11T16:47:28Z")
I have an internet savings account at home in Australia, but not with a separate e-Bank. It’s an add-on to my regular bank account, so I can only transfer funds in and out through my regular account. That said, I can manage it all via my online banking (or over phone banking), and transfer funds in a matter of seconds. And it’s fee-free with 5.45% interest! ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/5 "2006-07-11T17:23:28Z")
I also use ING. I like it; it’s simple and easy and every now and then I get an email saying my interest rate just went up. It’s a pretty competitive rate (4.35%) and the only annoyance is how long it takes to transfer funds to another account. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/6 "2006-07-11T17:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=Long Time First Time] I’ve been looking into placing money in an e-bank account because they offer incredibly high interest rates. For examples, at [HSBC](http://www.hsbcusa.com/) , savings account return 5.05%. Not even Certificate of Deposits get close to this. [/QUOTE] Irresepective of what you decide about the savings account, you might want to go to [www.bankrate.com](http://www.bankrate.com) - you can get better than 5.05% on a CD these days. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/7 "2006-07-11T18:00:10Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] Irresepective of what you decide about the savings account, you might want to go to [www.bankrate.com](http://www.bankrate.com) - you can get better than 5.05% on a CD these days. [/QUOTE] But you’re not gonna get a lot better than that and with the interest rates rising, do you really want to lock yourself into a fixed rate for a year or even six months? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/8 "2006-07-11T18:03:02Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] But you’re not gonna get a lot better than that and with the interest rates rising, do you really want to lock yourself into a fixed rate for a year or even six months? [/QUOTE] I wasn’t trying to recommend any particular action - just suggesting that he not make a decision based on out-of-date information wrt CD rates. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-banking-is-there-a-catch/364038/9 "2006-07-12T14:10:32Z")
Personally, I’ve tried both ING and HSBC. The thing I like about HSBC (besides the fact that they have no minimum balance and they pay a very high interest rate) is that you can get an ATM card linked to the account, thus making withdrawals pretty fast if needed…