Category: Citibank Branch Locations
Citibank Extends Online Business
Citibank is readying an online service that uses entertainment to expand its role in electronic commerce.
The finance giant is negotiating with content publishers and access providers to assemble a packaged online service aimed at Citibank customers, according to industry executives familiar with Citibank’s plans.
The service, still under development, could be rolled out as early as July, the executives said.
Under consideration are pricing plans in which Citibank would subsidize accounts offered to its customers, giving them high speed Digital Subscriber Line services at rates discounted from the emerging industry average of $40 monthly for high speed access.
The online offering would rep resent a new vehicle for Citibank to expand its reach in electronic commerce and could provide a venue for promoting its e-Citi initiative, aiming to enhance authentication technology underlying Web transactions.
The launch would go a long way toward explaining the institution’s hiring of veteran online content executive Josh Grotstein to head its consumer online efforts, last year.
Grotstein, who had led content and programming most recently at Prodigy and previously had worked for the interactive unit of the NBC television network, is no stranger to the idea of corporations selling Internet access to their customers.
The new Citibank approach mimics a marketing strategy Prodigy used during Grotstein’s tenure at the online service. Prodigy in 1997 pitched itself as a provider of out sourced Internet access services to corporations that wanted to offer Web access to customers under their own brand name. The idea was for companies to use the access offerings as affinity programs designed to build customer loyalty.
The Prodigy (www.prodigy.com) program, however, never really gained traction in the market a failure that could be blamed at least partially on the company’s uncertain ownership structure at the time.
The Citibank service, as a result, would represent one of the most aggressive corporate moves to date in using online offerings as a customer retention tool a key concern for a corporation with a stated mission of growing its worldwide client base tenfold from current levels to 1 billion customers by the year 2010.
Offering the packaged online service under the Citibank brand name would represent a significant expansion of Citibank’s consumer oriented online initiatives. Currently, its online presence consists of online distribution partnerships with Web portals, such as Netscape Communications’ Netcenter service.
Other financial institutions have taken their own steps to offer customized Web content. Discover Card, for instance, last year teamed up with Planet Direct to develop a customized portal service for its cardholders.
The Citibank (www.citibank.com) effort, however, appears to reach much further by essentially assembling the disparate pieces needed to create an entertainment oriented online service designed for the broadband era. Companies in talks with Citibank range from video content supplier SimplyTV to high speed access provider NorthPoint Communications, according to industry executives familiar with the talks. Executives at the companies could not be reached for comment on the negotiations.
Citibank spokeswoman Nina Das declined to comment on questions regarding Citibank’s efforts to assemble its own packaged online service.
“It’s something that’s way too early to talk about,” Das said. “It just compromises our competitive position to talk about it ahead of time.”
Citibank’s New Saving Grace
After allowing competitors to take an early lead in high yield online savings accounts, it’s making up for lost time. Just read the fine print before signing up.
Citibank is entering the crowded field of high yield online savings with the e-Savings account, which offers 4.5% with no minimum balance required.
While Citibank distinguished itself as one of the first big banks to offer dial-up services when online banking was in its infancy, the New York City based institution, a unit of Citigroup (C), has been late to the game in offering a high yielding online savings account.
As recently as October, 2005, Citibank’s online savings account gave consumers a mere 0.6% annual percentage yield [APY] while competitor ING Bank offered 3.4% APY on its Orange Direct account. ING’s high yields helped lure lots of new business last year the bank, a unit of the Amsterdam based ING Group (ING), doubled the number of customers in the U.S., to more than 3.4 million in 2005.
CONDITIONS APPLY.
Citibank’s new e-Savings account, part of a rebranded Internet portal known as Citibank Direct, has a higher yield than ING’s 3.8% APY, although it lags behind the 4.8% APY at HSBC Direct, a unit of London based HSBC Group (HBC), another big competitor also aggressively seeking new online savings accounts. HSBC currently offers the highest rate in the U.S., according to Bankrate.com, while Umbrellabank.com, gives the second highest, with an APY of 4.66%.
The Citibank e-Savings account is a bit trickier than those of its peers, says Laura Bruce, an analyst at Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Fla. “You see that flashy 4.5% savings account, but you could get tripped up on how the checking account works,” she says. That’s because, unlike HSBC and ING, Citibank requires that you attach an EZ checking account to the savings account. To maintain free checking, you need to make two electronic bill payments each month or have direct deposit into the account, she says. Adds Bruce: “If you don’t do that, you’ll have to keep a $1,500 minimum to avoid fees.”
Citibank has 900 branches in 10 U.S. states, which makes its branch network relatively small for a global company. Yet 40% of the customers who have opened accounts on Citibank.com live outside of that network. The e-Savings account offers “a great way to go out there and get deposits without having branches,” Bruce says. “They will reach a lot of people this way.”
Find The Right Online Bank For You
You haven’t seen a paper check in years, thanks to direct deposit, and your investment strategy begins and ends with a nofrills 401(k). You want to minimize hassle, maximize interest, and take advantage of your constant Web connectivity.
Everbank.com This practically fee free, Web only bank earns you 6 percent interest on FreeNet checking even more for savings and money market accounts (plus, your first 50 checks are free). “Great rates are the big setting point for all online banks,” says Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com. Log in during your Lunch break or between meetings to take care of business in a flash.everbank.com
THE FREELANCER
Whether you’re waiting tables, installing windows, or editing a Web site, you’re paid sometimes unpredictably in cash or checks You want a robust Web service for paying bills, but you need a nearby branch, with tellers, to make deposits and provide easy access to your cash sans fees.
Citibank online This brick and mortar stalwart has nearly 1,080 ATM terminals worldwide and was also ranked number one in online quality and availability by Web research firm Keynote Systems. Pair the no fee, no minimum EZ Checking account with the Ultimate Money savings account for a 5 percent rate provided you pay two bills online per month. citi.com
THE ARMCHAIR INVESTOR
You TiVo Jim Cramer, pore over marketwatch.com, and funnel cash into the market when you can. You want to swing funds from checking to investment accounts as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
E*Trade Bank Keep a checking balance above $5,000 and you’ll earn 3.25 percent on your quick access funds. But the real kicker here is the ability to flip funds, fee free, between E*Trade accounts and any other bank account, brokerage, or credit card using the bank’s Quick Transfer program.etrade.com
THE UP AND COMER
One day you’ll boost your financial footprint, but right now your bank account starves between paychecks. “Banking,” to you, consists of ATM visits and picking through piles of envelopes and stamps You want to eliminate surprises and penalties.
WaMu Free Checking This program is fee free, with no minimum balance required. The online savings account pays 5 percent, so you’re covered if your cash flow increases. PLus, WaMu will shoot you an e-mail or text message if your balance drops below a certain amount. wamu.com
GREAT RATES ARE THE BIG SELLING POINT FOR ALL ONLINE BANKS.
WHY BANK ONLINE?
IT’S SMART > Lapse on a credit card payment and your 1.9 percent interest rate can bump into double digits. Use automatic bill pay and never be late again. > IT’S SAFE > Victims of identity theft who receive only paper statements lose an average of $4,540. Catch a thief online and you’ll lose an average of just $550. > IT’S GREEN > E-banking could save 18.5 million trees per year, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research study. Boost your eco efforts by opting out of paper bills.