Here are some helpful answers compiled by our eCentive Account specialists. We invite you to consider this great interest-bearing, versatile checking account.
What features make the eCentive account, the best checking account, or one of the best bank accounts to open?
One of the top features of the eCentive Account, at least that I hear from our customers is that our interest rate is at a 2.02% annual percentage yield, and that's on qualifying balances. So, if you have anything from a penny all the way up to $100,000 in the account, you'll earn that interest rate. We also have our digital banking features. So, you can go online and do transfers, P2P, mobile deposits and BillPay. Those are also features that a lot of people use. Those are really popular. And then there's no minimums around that account specifically. So, you don't have to worry about keeping a certain amount of money in the account - as long as you have the opening deposit, then you're good to go.
What are the requirements to open an eCentive account?
The requirements to open the account is that you have to have a valid Social Security number or an ITIN number. You must have a valid ID, and that can be a variety of different IDs, but you must have a non-expired one. There's a verification process that you also must pass and that just checks for any previous fraud activity or abuse of checking accounts. So if that passes, the opening deposit is a hundred dollars. So those are really the only three check marks that you must have to open the account.
What criteria must be met monthly to maintain one of these eCentive accounts?
Nothing needs to be maintained, other than just doing a transaction one time every six months to keep it out of dormancy. But if you want to earn that annual percentage yield on the account, that 2.02% annual percentage yield, you do need to make at least $500 in debit card transactions each month. You have to have either one direct deposit set up or an autopay set up for a bill, and then you have to enroll in eStatements. If you don't enroll in eStatements, then you get paper statements sent every month and that is a $4 charge for that.
What makes Heritage Bank among the best banks for these checking accounts?
We have local branches, which is nice because we have the digital banking platform that a lot of our younger customers like to use. And then we also have the local branches, which is helpful for really anybody that needs anything outside of that digital realm. We have bilingual abilities, we have friendly and knowledgeable staff at every location. We have access to our ITMs, which are interactive ATMs. And then we have our customer care team, which is available for help after our banking hours. So, if you needed to make a deposit, call the bank, have questions, or you need to make a transfer, they're available after hours, which is really nice.
Is an eCentive Account known as a high yielding checking account?
Yes, it is. It is due to the interest yield that we have on there. It is a high yield checking account.
Does Heritage Bank have a free checking account?
Yes. All our personal accounts are free accounts. So, with the exception of our businesses, which are different accounts, all our personal checking accounts are free accounts.
Can the eCentive Account be used as a business checking account or an online bank account?
For the business side of things, no, it cannot. We offer several different business accounts. We offer a business checking account for low activity and one for larger businesses that have a lot more volume coming through. So, we have options for our businesses, but the personal eCentive Account cannot be used as a business account.
What would you say to someone looking to open an online bank account?
Go to the website. We have the option to open this account on the website. It's easy. It's simple. It's quick. So, I think it's a great option for people that are looking for after-hour banking or those who don't want to stop into a branch.
What are some of the benefits of opening the eCentive Account through Heritage Bank?
The local piece of it is huge for this community. So going into the bank, meeting with your universal banker or your relationship managers, or just your tellers as well, having them know your name is a big deal. There aren't any minimum balances on this account either. So eCentive is a good account to open and one of the features that I didn't mention too, is that you can get your ATM fees reimbursed up to $25. So, if you're out and about using ATMs, other banks' ATMs, a lot of times they can charge you three, four, $5 for an ATM transaction and you can get those reimbursed. And then you can also have up to two eCentive accounts. So, you're not limited to just having one, so lots of benefits and perks to banking with Heritage Bank and I would definitely suggest it.