WalMart to CoBrand and Market GoBank with Checks

The new Walmart productwill be the first full-blown, off-the-shelf checking account. Walmart and Green Dot will forgo Chex Systems which many banks use to vet potential customers to allow almost any consumer who passes an identification check to open an account in minutes, according to Green Dot.

The cost will be $8.95 a month but those with direct deposit and more than $500 a month in deposits won't see any fee. 

GoBank Fixes Allpoint Charges

In the first year of having GoBank they used to charge me regularly when I used the Allpoint ATMs which were free as part of the service.  So I'd get the Allpoint charge plus the GoBank charge totaling $4.50 usually.

They have solved that issue so those ATM's are free of charge which is part of the GoBank deal.

Nice to have those to use without worrying about checking for charges and having to call.

Amex Serve Raises Daily ATM Withdrawal Limit to $750

However with the monthly limit unchanged at $2,000 someone risks the chances that at some point they will have no ability to withdraw cash at an ATM.

Hello XXXXX,

We are writing to inform you of some changes to the terms and conditions of your American Express Serve® Account. Please review the changes below and share them with any Subaccount users:

• Out-of-Network ATM Fees:

Beginning October 30, 2014, the out-of-network ATM withdrawal fee for your Serve Card will increase from $2.00 to $2.50. ATM operator fees may also apply.

You can still enjoy free ATM withdrawals when using an in-network MoneyPass® ATM. You can find one of the more than 24,000 MoneyPass ATMs below.

• ATM Withdrawal Limits Increase:

We have increased your daily ATM limit, so you can withdraw up to $750 per day. Your monthly ATM withdrawal limit will remain at $2,000.

GoBank Updates Terms

The following new limits will take effect after August 14, 2014.

• In store cash deposits are now limited to up to $3,000 per rolling 30 days.
• When using the Send Money feature, you're now limited to receiving up to $2,000 per day and up to $5,000 per rolling 30 days.
• When using the Pay feature, you're now limited to sending payments of up to $5,000 per day and $5,000 per transaction.

Bonus

• We're getting rid of the $1.00 Out-of-Network ATM Balance Inquiry Fee (Yay!)

Amex Serve & Bluebird Adding Financial Managment Tools

American Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced it will add free personal financial management tools to American Express Serve1 and Bluebird starting this summer. These tools help customers monitor their spending by automatically sorting transactions into categories such as bills, food, fun, shopping and transportation so they can easily track where their money is going. When customers log in to their Serve and Bluebird accounts, they will also be able to create budgets, set spending limits and alerts, as well as set and track financial goals.

“With these new tools, we’re making it simple for our customers to know where their money is being spent, so they can track and manage their finances easily,” said Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth at American Express. “We’re focused on providing comprehensive and affordable options for the nearly 70 million unbanked and underbanked households in America2. We are pleased that consumers are finding value in our products, demonstrated by the strong demand we’re seeing for Serve and Bluebird.”

Bluebird and Serve Momentum

In the first four months of the year, American Express acquired 2.4 million customers on the Serve Platform, which includes Serve and Bluebird in the U.S. and LianLian in China, with over one million customers acquired in the month of April alone3.

For this same period, transaction volume processed on the Serve platform was $1.9 billion, almost tripling from the same period last year and representing an annual run rate of nearly six billion dollars.

Building Positive Financial Behaviors
Bluebird and Serve customers are demonstrating positive financial behaviors by using Direct Deposit to automatically add paychecks or government benefits to their accounts and putting money away for short term savings in a SetAside or Reserve account.

More than forty percent of funds added to Bluebird and Serve came through Direct Deposit year-to-date, which has been consistent since the feature was introduced. Customers are also putting away more than twenty-five percent of the money they add to their primary accounts each month into a linked SetAside or Reserve account. They are transferring money into SetAside or Reserve an average of three times a month, and they are using this money for future purchases like a vacation, big event, or for emergency funds.

Amex Serve Adding Family Dollar to Free Reload Network

By July Serve users will be able to load their cards at no charge at any Family Dollar store.

This will bring the total of free load locations to almost 28,000 nationwide.

Balance Financial Check Deposit Questions Remain

Deep within the terms and conditions for the Balance Financial Mastercard from Walgreens it mentions that check deposits made to the card (government and payroll) may be delayed by one business day but makes no mention of why or under what conditions.

Calling customer service gives an entirely different view. They tell you the individual store makes that decision and can 'cash' the check and deposit cash which is always available within an hour.

I spoke with 3 store managers who obviously had no clue as to what the rules were and had not had anyone deposit a check either.

Customer service did say that store managers can speak to a 'program manager' for support.