HigherOne - New Haven, CT Review

HigherOne is a strictly online bank which caters soley to colleges. Basically, it offers the college an easy way to disperse loan refunds to its' students faster and easier so that they don't have to process a whole bunch of checks. The students also get their money faster, which is great. Sounds like a good idea, huh?

Well, it's not. At least with this institution.

First of all, the debit card they send you is horribly ugly. At least mine was. The background on my card is a close up of our school mascot - which is a "Reiver" - whatever the heck that is. Apparently, it's some kind of deranged pirate. (see photo). They also added my photo on the top of the card - which I normally wouldn't mind, sounds like a great security feature. However, the photo is the one from my student ID which is probably the worst photo I've ever taken! I was sick that day and about to fall asleep - so I look like a stoned Rudolf-the-red-nosed-reindeer. Lovely. But that's only the tip of the iceberg!

You only get free transactions if you use your debit card as a credit card at the check out. Meaning, if you select "debit" and type in your PIN, they charge your account $2.50. Why? I have no idea. But if you select "credit" and sign your name, it's free. How stupid is that?

There aren't many ATMs to withdrawl cash. The ONLY one in my area is at the school I go to and it's 45 mins away. So, if I have to pay someone - someone who can't take credit cards - I have to write a check...which leads on to our next complaint.

They don't give you checks - not even the crappy starter checks that every bank gives you. So you have to order checks from them - which wouldn't bother me except for the fact that there are only 2 designs to choose from: one that matches my card OR HigherOne bank themed checks. They are also pretty expensive for what you get. I tried to get around this by ordering checks from another check company. I used the account and routing numbers listed on my account statement and the address provided on their website. When the check company tried to verify my info, HigherOne made it very difficult for them and told the check company that I was only authorized to buy my checks from them! I chewed HigherOne out over the phone and they let me order the stupid checks. Ugh.

One GOOD thing about them is that they have no minimum balance - I believe this is because most people don't use the account like a regular checking account. They don't deposit money - they just receive their refunds and spend it. That being said, my account sat at a zero balance for about 2 weeks. Then my school deposited a small amount of what they owed me (my loans haven't been distributed yet). As soon as my account had some money in it, HigherOne decides that they need more documentation on me because they can't verify my identity! WTH? Why didn't they get all of this decided when I activated the account and entered in my SSN and Driver's License info? So they want the same info again. I type it in. Then today, they decide that they want me to send them copies of the actual documents. Again - why didn't they do this at the beginning like every other financial institution? So I send it in. Still waiting to hear back. All the while, they've put restrictions on my account because they can't verify my identity. Whatever.

Granted, this is partially my fault. They did offer me the option of having the money put directly into my existing account. However, it can take upto a week longer to do it that way and I had heard bad stories about the school accidentally putting it in the HigherOne account instead - even when the account wasn't active and the money getting lost and having to wait even longer to get it back.

So, if your school offers this method, be warned. It's a pain in the you know what and make sure to look over the fee schedule because they charge ridiculous fees for the stupidest things!