CNB Bank Direct is the online bank division of Citizens National Bank, based in Bluffton, OH. Citizens National Bank was founded in 1920 and as assets totaling more than $481 million with 7 physical locations in Ohio: Bluffton, Lima, Elida, Van Wert, Celina, Findlay and Springfield.
Submitted: Sep 23, 2008
Views: 3292
Comments: 20
Likes: 2
CNB Bank Direct is the online bank division of Citizens National Bank, based in Bluffton, OH. Citizens National Bank was founded in 1920 and as assets totaling more than $481 million with 7 physical locations in Ohio: Bluffton, Lima, Elida, Van Wert, Celina, Findlay and Springfield. The bank has a four star soundness rating from Bauer financial out of five possible stars. It's FDIC certificate number is # 6531.
I called the bank to find out about there online application process and was told the following by a friendly CSR.
- Once you apply, you'll receive an Welcome email that will walk you through the process of finishing the account opening process.
- Funding for the account is electronic. You attach it to a primary checking account at another bank and you can then transfer funds back and forth via ACH. This usually takes between 24-48 hours. They verify your account via 2 test deposits. This is similar to how online banks such as ING operate and considered the best and easiest way to open and fund an account.
- The bank does a hard pull on your credit so be aware that an inquiry will appear. This will have minimal impact on most people's credit score and is not unusual thing for a bank to do when opening an account.
The minimum balance is $1 and there are no fees. You can make up to 6 withdrawals per month (this is a regulatory feature of savings accounts) and unlimited deposits.
We'd love to get some feedback on the account opening process so for those that give CNB Bank Direct a try, please leave a comment below.
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Comments Received:
kyle
(Unregistered)
I opened an account with CNB direct about 10 days ago. They do send emails and do the test deposit withdrawal like you say. The only problem I have is that the starting deposit I made about 5 days ago still hasn't shown up. And when I used their email help service I got a response from them saying the email didn't get through. It's not that I don't trust them, but it's pretty obvious the current staff is probably swamped with new accounts due to their 4.0% interest rate.
Posted: Oct 9, 2008
JC
(Unregistered)
I would not recommed opening an account unless you have extra time to follow up with them. I've had to call several times as it doesn't seem as if I'm getting the emails as I should. The staff is really friendly but I don't really have extra time to waste calling the bank each day.
The rate is the only thing that makes it attractive when compared with larger financial institutions. The guaranteed rate of 4% for 6 months will keep me there for at least that long but then I'll be looking for someplace else to park my funds.
Posted: Oct 10, 2008
Tank
(Unregistered)
I agree with the comment that this staff must be overwhelmed. They have been courteous but I get the feeling their on over their head. I did not complete the the application process as it took too long. Since FDIC insurance was raised I can place more funds in my existing OSA at HSBC and Emigrant.
Posted: Oct 10, 2008
Ed
(Unregistered)
They are no longer offering the 6 month guarantee on the 4% APY for new accounts. You can still get 4% but they can now change the rate at any time.
Posted: Oct 14, 2008
Andrew Mattingly
(Unregistered)
I concur with all the above. Doesn't seem like the right hand knows what the left hand is doing, with these people. I have been trying to get my account opened for a week now and have now run out of patients, especially in light of all the other reviews. I'm sure there are at least Hundreds of other people, that haven't found this site to report. If its this hard to put money in, I'm not going to test them on how hard it is to get out. I am sending my $$$ back to my 3% Emigrant Direct account, where the service is excellent.
Posted: Oct 21, 2008
Anony Moose
(Unregistered)
Hey Andrew- Since you have run out of "patients", I hope you are not a doctor. Otherwise you will not have any money to deposit in an on-line savings account.
Posted: Oct 22, 2008
gary
(Unregistered)
every thing went smooth. took about a week just like most of them. I did not have to call them because i read ther directions. I like the 4% and they update your intrest made each day. Only think i do not like is you can not open a joint acount
Posted: Oct 23, 2008
matt
(Unregistered)
The opening process is slow but ACH transfers are very fast (incoming are posted as soon as they are received, and there is less than a 4 hour delay between the time that outgoing funds are withdrawn from your account and arrive in your other account; this is the fastest I have ever seen, for an account that withdraws the funds before they are transmitted). They also show your daily accrued interest which is a nice feature that few banks have. With a 6-month guarantee of 4% I am very pleased with my account and will be using it as my primary deposit account for some time to come.
Posted: Oct 24, 2008
Amy
(Unregistered)
Here is my experience attempting to open an online savings account with CNB Direct:
10/18/08: Completed online application.
10/18/08: Received email verifying application was received.
10/21/08: Received email with instructions to e-sign some paperwork. I e-signed the paperwork the same day.
10/27/08: Received email with instructions for verifying two test transactions they sent to my linked account. I verified the transactions the same day.
10/28/08: Received email saying my account had finally been set up. Provided instructions for logging into my account.
I attempted to login using the instructions they provided, which took me to a screen saying "Unable to process request. Please try again later."
At this point, I've decided to forget the whole thing. It took 10 days for them to give me online access, and it doesn't actually work. I am going to contact CNB Direct tomorrow and ask them to close my account altogether.
Also, they only have phone support from 8 am to 5 pm EST, which makes it really difficult for people who work during the day to follow up with them.
I would not recommend signing up with this bank unless you have lots of time and lots of patience.
Posted: Oct 28, 2008
cowmilker
(Unregistered)
Come on, it's not that hard to sign up. Hardest thing is that when the account is ready, your "access code" is your account number. Based on the posts, it sounds like they have a bigger response than expected ... in my case, it was a week after I did the e-sign stuff before the account was ready for electronic access.
I also found that the ACH deposits were processed quickly.
Posted: Oct 29, 2008
Eric
(Unregistered)
Are they likely to keep rates at 4%? Or, do they traditionally have rates that are much higher than the average savings account?
Thanks
Posted: Nov 6, 2008
BILL
(Unregistered)
11/6 JUST STARTED PROCESS AND HAD SOME DIFFICULTY TRYING TO MAKE OUT IF THE INITIAL PW THEY SENT ME VIA E MAIL CONTAINED THE LETTER O OR IF IT WAS A ZERO. IT HAD ALPHA CAPS AND NUMERIC CHARACTERS. KEPT GETTING THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE.."You have entered an incorrect User ID/Password/SSN combination." Please try again. AFTER SENDING OUT AN E MAIL SOS TO THEM I FIGURED OUT THE CORRECT COMBINATION AFTER SEVERAL MORE ATTEMPS. DOCUMENTS NOW ALL SIGNED ON LINE, AWAITING TO GET MORE INFO. You can only do individual accts no joint accounts.????? Just opened two individual accts instead.
Posted: Nov 7, 2008
Larry Hunsinger
(Unregistered)
I found CNB Bank to be very quick and very easy to sign up with and fund. I requested funds from my CNB account to be sent back to my Bank of America account and it only took two days to show up. That is faster than any other on line bank. I am very happy withthis bank and its 4% rate.
Posted: Nov 12, 2008
Jason R
(Unregistered)
I just want to second everything Larry said. After reading all stories of everyone having to wait so long, and then not having their password work, etc...my entire process took about 3 days. Tricky thing about the temporary passwords seems to be the "O" versus zero thing. Also, whether you enter it that way or not, they establish your new password in all capital letters. Entering it otherwise will cause a rejection. Now if we can just get the 4 percent rate to hold up.
Posted: Nov 15, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
I signed up for CNB last Wednesday with a confirmation the same day.
I haven't received any more e-mails on userid/password information or test deposits.
How long does this normally take? I wish they would have said this in the initial confirmation message.
Posted: Nov 17, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
I called up today and she said she would have to call me back and didn't give me a reason why? hmmm.
Not a good start.
Posted: Nov 17, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
It's quite a long process, but seems to be moving along now.
In a few days, they will send the deposits.
Posted: Nov 19, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
Deposits have been submitted to them on Nov. 21, 2008. Now we need to wait for another e-mail for login details???? Unbelievable.
Posted: Nov 24, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
I signed onto the account and waiting another 2-3 business days for my deposit to be sent.
It takes awhile to get this setup, but it appears to be a good interface.
Posted: Nov 25, 2008
Aaron
(Unregistered)
I got setup a couple days ago Wednesday. It looks like the rate has went down from 4% to 3.75% after I just logged in...My luck. Oh well.
It took awhile, but it looks like it will be a good choice for a savings account.
Later.
Posted: Nov 28, 2008
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