Discover Bank - Money Market

Average Score:

•   Low transfer limits, bad interface and support

  I was originally attracted to Discover Bank based on their good rate, their website (which looked pretty professional) and the fact that Discover is a big company with a good brand.

  However, once I applied and my account was approved, I was shocked how bad the banking experience was.

  First of all, the website for managing your account was tough to use, did not offer online statements, and looked like it was built in 1993 - not at all what you'd expect from a big company like Discover or based on the professional looking site that asks you to sign up.

  Second of all, after opening the account with a minimal balance, I wanted to put my savings in there that I had been saving for a down payment on a house, but the site said I couldn't transfer in or out more than several thousand per day and no more than $35K per month.

  I had asked a customer service person whether there were any transfer limits before I applied and she had said no, so I became pretty frustrated.

  The whole reason I opened the account is that savings accounts are supposed to be completely liquid - so that when I found my dream house, I could take all the money out and put a down payment on it. But the low transfer limits prevented me from even putting the money in there in the first place.

  I decided to close the account, since I had no reason to now use it, but then I read that there was a fee for closing the account in the first few months - so I didn't bother.

  Thus, I still have it and hope they get better, but in the meantime, they're just an extra annoying piece of mail I get each month to remind me of this bank.

  Posted by jay_squared -- June 3, 2009

•   Online Bank without Online Support

  Discover's website for their Money Market account looks nice at first glance. But after some digging, there is a glaring omission - no online support. I hunted high and low and could not find a contact form or customer service email to get in touch with anyone at Discover. That's a concern - does this mean that I'd need to get on the phone with a customer service rep anytime I had a problem? I wasn't excited about that prospect, but I gave them a call to check out the experience.

  It wasn't good. The rep I got on the phone was a disciplined slow talker, which unfortunately only accentuated the fact that he wasn't very knowledgeable. He had to get off the call 3 different times to find the answers to my questions. The prospect of having to conduct all of my interactions with Discover in this manner was not very comforting.

  The one interesting thing he did mention was that Discover does not provide overdraft protection on the optional debit card associated with the account. I think he offered it as an honest fault with the account, but this is potentially a perk, as I've heard horror stories of people trying to buy a $3.40 coffee, exceeding their remaining balance, and then getting clobbered by a cascade of overdraft charges. Discover will just decline the transaction, which is probably the right thing to do. Although with only 3 debit card transactions allowed per month (according to Regulation D), this is probably not the account for anyone looking to use a debit card to purchase coffee on a regular basis.

  Debit card perks on a limited transaction account and poor customer service do not make a great bank account experience.

  Posted by SmallBizMan -- March 24, 2009