Bank of Internet | History
In our review of Bank of Internet, we exposed that it is solely an online bank. Yet don’t be fooled by their lack of physical presence, they do shine on the web with competitive rates. There are no physical branches and they have been open for business since 1999. The headquarters for Bank of
Internet is located in San Diego and, as all the banks reviewed by Bank Truth, Bank of Internet is FDIC insured. They are publicly traded under the NASDAQ symbol BOFI. They are very open about their financial standing. So much so that you can access their stock price, balance sheet, and income statement through their website www.bankofinternet.com.
Products and Services
In our video of of Bank of Internet, we review the accounts and interest rates offered.
Personal Checking
You can start an online checking account, at Bank of internet, with an initial deposit of $500. If your average daily balance is below $5,000 you will be charged a monthly fee of $7.50. Bank of Internet offers high interest checking accounts as well as non-interest bearing bank accounts but you have to dig for information on the non interest bearing account. The high interest checking account comes with free online billpay, check imaging, ATM card, and even one free order of checks. They do compare their APY rate to other banks on their site, but the information is from March of this year, so you still need to do your homework. Check the comparisons for yourself or check other recent, more reliable bank reviews. Rates can change daily so don’t rely on old information.
Personal Savings at Bank of Internet
Bank of Internet offers three deposit accounts, each of which have an initial minimum deposit of $100. None of the high yield accounts charge minimum or maintenance fees. All include free online statements, inter-account transfers, and ATM card. If you need your deposit account to include check writing privileges, choose their high interest money market account. Online bill pay is only offered on the advantage savings account, but it is limited to 6 transactions per month. Bank of Internet also has high yield savings accounts that do not offer check writing or bill pay but has the highest savings rate of the bunch.
Certificates of Deposit
The CDs, available through Bank of Internet, have terms that range from 3 months cds to 5 years cds. Comparing Bank of Internet CD account rates, the best CD rate corresponds to the longest term, as you would expect. Be careful what you agree to, because if you cannot complete the term there are penalties. For instance, if you had a certificate of deposit with a term of 36 months, and you withdrew funds early, you would loose 6 months of interest . The good part here is that the penalty is only calculated on the amount you withdraw from the certificate of deposit account, as opposed to the total deposited amount. The minimum balance required for all CDs is $1,000 and they automatically renew. If your renewal date slips by you, Bank of Internet does give a ten day grace period to notify them that you do not want to renew. They offer free electronic transfer of interest but do not specify if the interest must be transferred within Bank of Internet or not. Living trust account ownerships are also available through Bank of Internet.
Loan Products
Bank of Internet has several loan products available including home purchase 
loans, refinance loans, and even loans for multifamily units. Bank of Internet offers conforming loans (loans with the best rate but maximum limits set by Fannie Mae), high limit conforming loans, and Jumbo loans. All loans have fixed rate, adjustable rate, and interest only options. The have a glossary of property loan terms as well as loan calculators, that are very helpful. Internet Bank even has information about what to consider when you are deciding which loan is best for you.
Summary of Bank of Internet Review
I was genuinely impressed with the amount of information that Bank of Internet made available about themselves online. It made the Bank of Internet review, much easier. Their online banking site is well organized and easy to navigate. Their motto is , “Simplify your life, Earn more Money.” While their rates are not the best online banking rates I have seen, they do fall in the middle of the pack.
A huge stumbling block to be aware of, is they do not have the ability to move funds easily between your account at Bank of Internet and other external accounts. The move has to be initiated by the external bank. Many customers find themselves mailing in deposits, as opposed to quickly transferring funds on their computers. Customer reviews of this bank seem to swing wildly from very satisfied, to not satisfied at all, without many comments in the middle. That is not a “deal breaker” but it definitely tells me to be aware. As always, I recommend that you do your homework by reading bank reviews and even calling or e-mailing Bank of Internet yourself.
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