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Peoples United Financial Bank

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LAST UPDATED: April 6th, 2021

People’s United Bank was started in the Northeastern United States in 1842 as a premier, community-based, regional bank in offering commercial and retail banking, and wealth management services. However, it found its niche to be servicing the middle class population while other banks mainly focused on commercial businesses. After years of conversions, mergers and acquisitions, People’s Bank became People’s United Bank in 2007. Today, People's United Bank operates as a subsidiary of People's United Financial, Inc. with $36 billion in assets. They currently have over 5,000 employees and branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. There are People’s United Bank Stop and Shop branches at more than 140 metro locations in New York and Connecticut.

 

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The Good

  • Features and services
  • Mobile app
  • Mobile web banking

Features and Services

People's United Financial Bank subscribes to giving empathy and expertise to its customers as part of the formula to success. People's Bank seems to demonstrate this through their checking account offers. All of their checking accounts come with these basic features:
  • Free Mobile Banking
  • Mobile Check Deposit
  • Free e-statements
  • Debit Cards
  • Free Online Banking and Bill Pay
  • Linked Savings or Money Market Savings Accounts
  • Access to over 400 branches and 600 ATMs throughout the Northeast
People's United Financial's most premier benefit is its full range of mobile banking features. With the mobile banking services, customers can choose from the Mobile App, Mobile Web Banking or Text Banking depending on their personal preferences and individual phone capabilities.

Mobile App

Features:
  • Mobile Check Deposit
  • Check account balances
  • View check images
  • Pay bills
  • View transaction history
  • Transfer funds between People's United Bank accounts
  • Find ATM and Branch Locations

Mobile Web Banking

Features:
  • Pay Bills
  • Check Account Balance
  • View Transaction History
  • Transfer Funds Between People's United Bank Accounts
  • Find ATM and Branch Locations
  • Text Banking
Features:
  • Quick Balance feature - allows customers to access their Account Balance by just sending a text. No login required
  • Quick History feature - lets customers view recent transactions by just sending a text. No app required - just text and go.
These features make banking easy for those who are tech-savvy. Low-cost bank accounts Their most economically friendly account is their Plus Checking account This account offers many free features, including:
  • Free ATMs anywhere, anytime
  • Free Debit Card
  • Free first order of checks
  • Free Plus Savings account
People's Bank offers value to business owners with their business checking account People's Savings Account is an add-on feature when customers open a personal checking account. Customers opening a personal checking account are required to open a linked personal Savings Account. The built in features of People's United Financial Bank's Savings account:
  • Free Mobile Banking
  • Mobile Check Deposit
  • Free e-statements
  • Debit Cards
  • Free Online Banking and Bill Pay
Plus Savings Account features are wallet-friendly with benefits such as:
  • No monthly maintenance fee
  • Low minimum opening deposit of $50
For business owners, People's United Financial  a business checking account with favorable features. For instance, all business checking accounts come with:
  • Free single-user Online Banking and up to 30 free Bill Payments per month
  • Business Overdraft Line up to $25,000 per customer
  • Free MasterMoneyTM BusinessCard
  • Convenient access to funds through eTreasury, ATM  and telephone banking
eTreasury is a one-stop-shop banking service allowing members to manage multiple accounts with a range of online banking options, such as:
  • Real-time transactions, balances and internal account to account transfers
  • A wide range of export options including  .CSV, .PDF, BAI2, Microsoft Money, and QuickBooks
  • A wide array of payment and collection options to select from, including Bill Payment, ACH and Wire Origination
  • Online access to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as well as ACH Returns and Notifications of Change
  • Images of checks, deposits & deposited items, bank statements and account analysis statements
  • Online access to loan and investment reports
  • Single point of access for multiple Treasury Management services
  • Flexible, robust security parameters enabling your company to tailor security to each user
  • A variety of alerts allowing each user to set notifications based on their particular workflow
  • For retirement, both Roth and Traditional IRA accounts are offered.
Some details about the Traditional IRA:
  • Annual Maximum Contribution $5,500
  • Additional Catch-up Contribution for Individuals for age 50+ is $1,000
  • Tax-Deductible Contributions
  • Minimum Required Distribution (MRDs) age 70 ½
  • Minimum Age to Take Withdrawals Without Penalties is 59 ½
  • Federal Income Tax-Deferred
  • No Annual Fee
Withdrawals
  • 10% early withdrawal penalty may apply for withdrawals taken prior to age 59½ if no exceptions apply
  • Penalty-free withdrawals for first home purchase and certain college expenses
The Roth IRA is also available, with:
  • Annual Maximum Contribution $5,500
  • Additional Catch-up Contribution for Individuals age 50+ is $1,000
  • No Tax-Deductible Contributions
  • No Minimum Required Distribution (MRDs)
  • Minimum Age to Take Withdrawals Without Penalties is 59
  • Federal Income Tax-Deferred
  • No annual fee
Special Identity Theft Features Another quality feature for customers (especially those who do a lot of mobile and online banking) is People's United Financial's Identity Theft services. These include: Identity Theft Resolution Services Assists customers who are victims of identity theft with:
  • credit bureau notification
  • credit card replacement
  • an ID Theft Affidavit
Extended Warranty Coverage Doubles the original manufacturer's or store brand warranty for up to one year when customers pay with their MasterCard. Price Protection This means if customers find a lower price for a new item within 60 days from the date of purchase using their MasterCard, they may be reimbursed for the price difference. WorldWide Automatic Travel Accident and Baggage Delay Insurance As a cardmember, customers automatically receive additional insurance benefits, such as travel accident insurance and baggage delay insurance.
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The Bad

  • Requirements for opening a checking account

Requirements to Open a Checking Account

Customers should not be "forced" to open a savings account when opening a personal checking account. On one hand, if a customer wants a personal checking account, then getting a free savings account as an automatic feature may be a good thing (if they don't have a savings account already or are first time account holders). However, the stipulation is that this savings account has a monthly fee (albeit waived when linked with a checking account) but there is a $50 opening balance requirement that isn't waived, neither is the $250 minimum balance. It also applies the other way around. If someone only wants to open a savings account, linking it with a personal checking is the only way to avoid fees. It seems unfair to have to shoulder the responsibilities that come with a savings account if a customer doesn't want to.
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The Bottom Line

People's United National Bank started out as a bank catering to the middle class and today they cater to a modern niche of millennials. In today's digital society, extensive one-stop-shop mobile and online banking features carry way more value for everyday people than traditional banking alone. It is also commendable that they offer more in-depth services to protect mobile users from Fraud and Identity Theft-which is much easier to occur today than ever before. One needed change worth mentioning is the mandatory rule for checking account customers who must open a personal savings account in order to open their checking (and vice versa). This may be good for college students or millennials just getting into personal banking but the downside is that the linked account has possible fees if all requirements are not met,
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