What makes a good on-line bank? Speed of service, for one thing. The site should load quickly and smoothly. Customer service should be exceptional. Operators should be standing by, literally. We are, after all, taking about your money here. Other things to check:

• Does the bank offer insurance against on-line theft? In general, what type of security safeguards does the bank use?
  
• Does the bank charge a fee for online deposits and withdrawals?
  
• How soon after making a deposit are funds available?
  
• Is there an on-line account setup fee?
  
• What ATM network does the bank subscribe to? Is this network active in your area? What does the bank charge for ATM transactions?
  
• Can you download bank statement data into Quicken, MS Money or other personal financial software?
  

Having said that, here are our choices for the best banking sites for minorities and women....

Wells Fargo On-Line

The site is clean and loads quickly. The bank offers services in:

• Personal banking and investing;
  
• Small Business;
  
• International trade;
  
• Insurance;
  
• On-Line Brokerage services;
  
• They also have an on line wanted poster section, where you can see camera shots taken during bank robberies...a 1990's-style, cyberspace link to the bank's past, when it pledged to "...never to abandon or relax the pursuit of anyone who committed a criminal offense against it." -- Wells Fargo Company Policy 1870. A little vindictive, eh?
  
  

Still, a good and diverse bank. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Wells Fargo's Board of Directors are minorities and/or women. (Of course, given recent corporate scandals, we know how little that means. But it's better than 0%.) Of more importance is the fact that, in 1997, "Forty-two percent (42%) of Wells Fargo's employees (were) minorities and 67% (were) women."

NetBank

• NetBank is the nation's largest pure Internet bank, with, as of 7/28/99, 40,000 accounts. For those of you in uniform, note that the bank is part of the Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN), providing financial services to U.S. military personnel around the world. The site is a little slow, however. The bank offers the following services:
  
  Checking;
  Money Market Accounts;
  CD's;
  Home Loans;
  Refinancing;
  Credit Cards;
  Small Business Loans;
  Overdraft protection;
  Lines of credit;
  On-line brokerage.
  

The bank rolled out a new on line loan service. The bank promises that "applicants receive an answer within 30 seconds and if approved, their money within as few as 7 days." (Yeah, right. We've heard that before.) Still, the best and biggest pure on-line bank we've seen to date.

Other sites:

www.bankrate.com - Summary information: on-line banking.

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