You would think that in this day and age of advanced technology, banking institutions that operate primarily online would have processes in place that don’t rely on snail-mail and centuries-old, outdated technology. I wrote about my experience opening an account at Emigrant Direct over a year ago, and it was tedious.
When Emigrant Direct opened their new website to much fanfare and disappointment, they changed the account registration process.
Personal Finance Advice reports on the new procedure which involves small deposits to a linked account and an immediate user ID rather than a communication by traditional mail.
I hope more banks follow suit. I recently opened a new account at HSBC Direct to take advantage of their high interest rate, but this opening process relied on two separate meatspace mailings, plus a third for the ATM card.
It’s time to end reliance on snail mail for verifications. Old techniques don’t make opening an account more secure.
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When you open a new HSBC account…can you then shift the money from your old account into it?
I’m looking forward to the upcoming Carnival of Business. ;)
You might want to look into the effects on FDIC insurance when two or more banks are acquired by a third bank. Before the merger, if an individual has accounts in two banks, each account is covered separately for the FDIC maximu. After the merger, the two accounts are considered held by the acquiring bank, and thus may not be fully covered for people having a large total between the two (or more) accounts.