Stonebridge Savings, just as any online savings account,has both positive and negative elements. The trick is to find out whether the positives of Stonebridge Bank savings accounts outweigh the negatives.

The Positives of Stonebridge Savings

First and foremost, it is important to note that Stonebridgebank.com does not offer a savings account. This review is on the savings account offered by stonebridgebank.biz. Let’s start with the positives about this savings account. First and foremost, Stonebridge savings accounts are FDIC-insured against bank failure. This protects you as an investor. There is no minimum balance requirement for this savings account, which is nice if you have limited funds to deposit. Not only is there no minimum monthly balance to maintain, there also is no minimum initial deposit requirement.   A lack of monthly service charge is a big plus. A savings account from Stonebridge Bank also comes with several freebies: free ATM card, free internet banking, free online statements, and free phone banking. Free is always good! There also is no limit to the number of deposits or withdrawals that you make by mail or in person.

The Negatives of Stonebridge bank savings account

The interest rate is variable which makes your rate of return less of a “sure thing”. The bright side is that hey, rates could go up. I would love to talk about APY rates here specifically but there is no information available online. Frustrating!You can request said information online and submit your telephone number and your e-mail, but in a word of instant access that seems like a lot of trouble.

There are limits to the number of checks, pre-authorized, automatic, online, and telephone transfers that you can make in any monthly statement cycle. The magic number is six and be aware that only three of these can be a check or draft to another person.  A huge negative is that you cannot apply for this account online. Stonebridge Bank offers online banking services but not online savings account applications.

Summary of Stonebridge Bank Savings Accounts

There are plenty of positives and negatives here. The final weighing decision depends of what is most important to you as a depositor. Is it most important that you find an account with low balance requirements and no monthly fee. If that is the case, then this may be the savings account for you. Remember, there are other banks out there that also do not have minimum balance requirements or monthly fees. Ally Bank savings accounts and Sallie Mae savings accounts are just two examples.

If the ease of set up is the most important factor, then this is definitely not the account for you. If you like to know all about a bank before you enter into a relationship with them, then a savings account from Stonebridge bank would be a tough sell. While their website is very professional looking it is also very minimalist in regards to information about the bank itself as well as its accounts. A funny side note here is that there is quite a bit of information available through their site about the various partners of their bank. Which is more important to you, knowing the education and hobbies of your bankers or the rates they offer on their savings accounts? I cannot tell you whether these accounts could even be considered high yield savings accounts with out rate information.

Before you open a deposit account, I always suggest that you compare savings rates as well as comparing the savings account details. An easy way to do this is with Bank Truths posts on the best savings rates.