Online banking is no longer the wave of the future – it's the standard of the present. This is the reason why our team at Star Reviews decided to do some good, old-fashioned research to hand pick your best banking choices. Wachovia, the serious bank with the funny name, was one of the top contenders in our eyes. We were instantly drawn to their refreshing, simple site layout and couldn’t wait to dig deeper. Read on for the 4-1-1 on Wachovia below.
What's New?
- Mobile banking services that let you bank from your cell phone.
- Save up to 16 months of online bank statements.
- Access your account from Quicken, QuickBooks or Microsoft Money with a free 3-month trial ($5.95 per month after that).
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
We really liked the fact that you can integrate your Wachovia online banking account with popular accounting software such as Quicken, QuickBooks and Microsoft Money. Sure, we'd have like to see it offered for free, but a 3-month free trial is the next best thing and $5.95 a month after that isn't too steep of a price if you really make use of the feature.
About Wachovia:
Wachovia Corporation is the baby that came to be when First Union Corporation married Wachovia Bank and Trust. The company's origins date back to 1879 and because longevity is important when selecting your online banking provider, a 100+ year history is quite impressive. This and their wide array of products and services make Wachovia one of the top contenders in the world of online banking.
Navigating the Wachovia Website:
Wachovia's website is a little "busy" but it isn't so cluttered that it's unmanageable. We were able to find the link to Wachovia's online banking page in just minutes and found a wealth of information regarding the company's online banking products and services. However, we would have liked to see the paragraphs and bullet points spread out more. All of the information seemed lumped together and it was all we could do to keep our focus on the site.
On the plus side, Wachovia's website pages loaded quickly, which was a nice change of pace from some of the competitor's sites. This is probably due to the fact that Wachovia forgoes the fancy graphics and, instead, opts to present cold-hard facts in text format rather than bogging pages down with flash presentations.
What Wachovia Offers:
- Online checking and savings
- Free online bill pay
- Online brokerage
- Online retirement access
- Wireless banking alerts
- Integration with QuickBooks, Quicken and Microsoft Money
Wachovia Fees:
- $0 monthly maintenance fee on free, student, and senior checking accounts
- $15 monthly maintenance fee on Crown Access Checking accounts with less than $1,500 daily balance
- ATM fees ranging from $0 to $2 depending on account and transaction type
- $50 minimum opening balance for Free Checking accounts and $100 minimum opening balance on all other checking accounts.
Wachovia Customer Support:
Wachovia customers can access customer support by calling a toll-free number, contacting a local branch or browsing the website's FAQs. You can also contact online support using an email request form, but you must be a registered Wachovia account holder to do so. When contacting Wachovia, we dialed the 800 number and spoke with a very friendly and knowledgeable service representative. The gentlemen described the differences between available checking accounts in detail and gave us tips on where to go for additional information. When the call ended, we felt as though our questions had been addressed more than adequately and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend a call to their support center if you run into any questions.
Upside:
Great customer service, low opening balance requirements, accounting software integration.
Downside:
Email support should be available to potential customers without an account.
Summary:
All in all, we were pleasantly surprised with the Wachovia online banking experience. We were expecting another financial big name not upholding the same standards when it came to their online bank. However, Wachovia proved us wrong. Their site was pretty simple to navigate and didn't require long page load times, which we truly appreciated. They seemed to provide text rather than flashing HTML and loads of graphics, which was also refreshing. There isn't a monthly maintenance fee on most checking accounts, so we definitely commend them on that. You can also utilize their mobile banking service, which is a huge plus in our eyes. Customer support via a 1-800 number was quite helpful, which was another perk to the Wachovia online banking experience. We would have liked email support to be for everyone and not just account holders, but no can do. They get a thumbs up from Star Reviews!