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Online banks realize that some people watch movies and the misinformation
on the News. Many people are scared into believing that using a
computer, which is not even online, will great increase their chance
of identity theft. I haven't seen a survey on this at all, but I
would say that 30-40% of people have in their mind that they will
never bank online in any fashion. If you see any surveys on this,
please email them to me. These people will still have a savings
and/or checking account, but never access it in any way online.
Online banks realize that they are basically missing 30-40% of the
potential market due to this. If you look close, they are actually
accommodating these people. ING Direct and HSBC have entire procedures
in place for these people. It all works via snail mail.
I think this is a huge trend we will start to see. Savings Accounts
Online, less the Online part. ING Direct and HSBC allows you to
signup via the mail. You can even send in future deposits and withdrawals
via the mail for both them.
ING Direct will make you logon online once to just confirm your
account. I have heard that from a few people. They tried to set
it up totally offline, but were told they had to log on once. They
were allowed to send in payment and make withdrawals via the mail
and phone.
HSBC does not really market this, but if you call them up and say
that you want an online account, they will provide you with a phone
number to call to setup your HSBC account. I had this confirmed
by four people so far. The beautiful thing with HSBC is that you
can totally manage your account via an ATM then. I have to be honest
if you look at the fraud numbers of ATM vs. Online Bank Accounts
percentage wise ATMs are a much riskier way to manage your account.
But, people like and trust ATMs, so they will probably use it.
If the big, bad Internet has you afraid of using your personal
information online, this is still a way to take advantage of a great
rate. Although it will defeat your ability to actively manage your
account. This really only makes your cash just slightly more accessible
than purchasing a short term CD. If you plan just to let the money
sit, you are better off with CDs.
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