Bank of America’s history dates back to 1904 with the start of “Bank of Italy” in San Francisco, which eventually became “Bank of America and Italy” and finally Bank of America in 1930. As of 2010, the bank was the 5th largest company in the United States by total revenue. Currently, it serves clients in over 150 countries.
Company Headquarters:
Bank of America Corporate Center
100 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28255
Website: www.bankofamerica.com/
Customer service: 1-800-432-1000
Types of Accounts Available
Bank of America provides a wide variety of checking, savings, money market and CD options.
Savings Accounts
The Regular Savings account is Bank of America’s primary savings option:
- $25 to open
- Online Banking service
- Avoid $5 monthly maintenance fee by keeping a daily balance of $300 per day or making an automatic monthly transfer of $25 or more from checking
- Unlimited withdrawals allotted if minimum balance is more than $2,500 ($3 per withdrawal over 3 per month with a smaller balance)
- Interest is compounded daily and paid monthly
Bank of America also offers the Custodial Savings for Youth account.
Checking Accounts
eBanking is an option utilized by those who’d prefer handling most of their banking online. It’s features and requirements include:
- $25 to open
- No minimum balance requirements
- Avoid $8.95 monthly fee by choosing online paperless statements or making deposits and withdrawals online or by ATM (without a teller)
- Free transfers to and from other Bank of America customers
- Optional Bill Pay service
- Free account alerts
- Mobile Banking
Other checking options offered by Bank of America include MyAccess Checking and Advantage with Tiered Interest Checking accounts.
Money Market Accounts
Bank of America offers the Growth Money Market Savings Account with the following features and requirements:
- $25 to open
- Tiered interest rates
- Unlimited withdrawals, deposits and transfers at Bank of America ATMs and banking centers
- Use as overdraft protection for checking
- Online Banking
Avoid a $12 monthly maintenance fee by linking to an Advantage with Tiered Interest Checking account or maintaining a minimum balance of $2,500 or more in the account.
CDs
The Standard Term Certificate of Deposit comes with the following:
- $1,000 to open
- Withdraw interest monthly without penalty
- Fund CD with existing Bank of America savings or checking account
- Interest is compounded and credit monthly
Bank of America’s CD terms are as follows:
- 28-89 day
- 90-179 day
- 6-11 month
- 12-17 month
- 18-23 month
- 24-35 month
- 36-47 month
- 48-59 month
- 60-111 month
- 120 month
Other CD options include the Risk-Fee CD, Opt-Up CD and Featured CD. This bank does not advertise jumbo CDs.
How to Open Account
In order to open most accounts with Bank of America, you will need the following:
- Social Security number
- Current home address
- Current e-mail address
- Phone number
- Debit card or bank account number to fund account
If you have co-applicants, they should be prepared to provide this information as well.
FDIC Insurance and Coverage
The FDIC insures deposits in Bank of America’s checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings accounts and Certificates of Deposit (CDs) for up to $250,000 per depositor. Deposits in bank individual retirement accounts are separately insured for the same amount. Investments and insurance products are not FDIC-insured.
Customer Service
In addition to the general customer service phone number, which is available 24/7 (for checking account balances, reviewing recent transactions, seeing if a check has cleared and transferring funds) the bank offers a number of additional contact numbers for deposit information, loans, credit cards and mortgages.
Security
In order to secure online accounts, Bank of America uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, which protects and encrypts personal information. The bank also uses SiteKey, which prevents fraud and identity theft whenever signing into Online Banking by providing an image that requires a unique phrase to be entered when prompted that no one else should know.
In addition to deposit accounts, Bank of America offers credit cards, loan products (mortgage, auto, refinance, HELOC), investment options and tips for planning retirement, college savings, buying a car or purchasing a home.
