Comments on: SmartyPig – Online Savings Account

By: jane

jane — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:11:36 +0000

i have a smarty pig account and you are wrong…u can do an ACH withdrawal to send your funds back to your account whenever you like, you just have to stop your goal to do so, but you can always start another right back up. And all your interests you’ve accrued goes right to your bank account with it. Great interest rates. I like it.

By: nuevo.donna

nuevo.donna — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:50:05 +0000

This company has one fatal flaw IMO. Yes, they have very competitive rates, yes, they have interesting features which assist you in organizing and staying current with savings goals. Here’s the problem, if there is anything remotely time sensitive about your goals, and you aren’t very careful you might end up royally screwed. Here’s the issue:

1. You are REQUIRED to fund the account every month. You may NOT opt out. You have flexibility to alter the amount of the contribution, but you may not pre-emt it. It’s going to happen and once it does, your funds are locked in place. All of them are locked in place. In my case currently a monthly contribution of $29 was scheduled to occur on the 1st. It didn’t happen till the 3rd. Now when I try to close a savings goal totaling over $28,000, I’m told I may NOT close it out and have access to any of my funds until that tiny transfer of $29 is completed on the 10th!!!

This is odd because according to their own faq, “ACH transactions take 3 business banking days to clear. SmartyPig defines funds as having cleared once SmartyPig has collected the funds and has full use of the funds.”

When I finally get my money, I’m through with SmartyPig. However they may not be through with me. I’ve been saving these funds for 2 years for a surgery. If I miss it now because I’m unable to fund it in time, they WILL be hearing from my attorney. No company should be allowed to hold YOUR money hostage for such trivialities. This isn’t a CD. It’s a savings account.

Don’t count on help from their customer service either in a matter like this because it won’t be forthcoming.

By: ot

ot — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:46:23 +0000

any more reviews?

By: Zero2Freedom

Zero2Freedom — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:33:57 +0000

Justin (and everyone)… according to the Q&A section there is also an option for getting a check mailed to you when you want your funds. And, there is no charge. It takes about the same amount of time as getting the gift or debit card.

Also, check out the section about the executive team. Looks like a reputable list of professonionals heading this up… with a strong, publicly traded bank behind it. I will be investigating more and put my review here.

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:37:09 +0000

Justin…Bad deal? I don’t believe this is intended to be a primary investment vehicle, rather a responsible alternative to utilizing debt for purchasing goods, etc. Given the increasing propensity of our nation to spend beyond our means, I think this is a great idea! It’s also a great tool for parents like me who would rather grandparents, etc. have the direct means to deposit money into this account for my kids rather than a normal savings account – truly a great networking idea. Great primary investment strategy – obviously not; great (responsible) alternative to credit – absolutely!

By: tim

tim — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:25:16 +0000

has anyone tried opening an account with them?

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:27:02 +0000

For the investors out there looking for a place to temporarily hold their cash, this probably isn’t your answer. The most you can put in per month is $10,000. You can move everything from your bank account into SmartyPig, but can’t move it back. You can either get your money in the form of a Gift Card (eg. would be Best Buy) or a Debit Card. In other words, you cannot reverse the transfer of cash. Well, indirectly you could, but it would involve making many ATM visits, charges possibly incurred, etc. Not worth the hassle for the investor—good percentage…bad deal.

By: sara

sara — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:48:45 +0000

anyone have reviews of this bank?

By: brendan

brendan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:51:32 +0000

10. How is interest paid?

Interest is configured using a daily accrual method with quarterly postings to a customer’s account.