Bottom Line - this is a "Nana" bank. Don't open an account here if you expect to be treated like it's 2016.
Originally, my husband & I decided to open a Joint Checking account with MSB because we liked the idea of banking with a smaller, local company. Previously, I had banked with Cambridge Savings Bank (another small local company) and had loved it, but since there are no CSB locations near our home, we decided to go with Middlesex SB instead. Wow, what a mistake.
Our problems with this bank started almost immediately. Beware that the online banking and mobile application that they use at MSB is antiquated and incredibly difficult to use, especially if you have a joint account and both of you want access to it. The mobile app is basically useless. You have to enter your entire username and password each time you want to login (it will not save even your username, and there is no option to use Touch ID), and there is no option for mobile deposit at all.
Online banking is also a problem, if each of you have your own computer and want to access the account separately. I can't tell you how many times my husband would try to login using his laptop, only to be told that he needed a "One-Time" pin to login as well, but the pin would be texted to *my* cell phone because you can only have one phone # on the account, so he would then have to call me to get that, etc etc etc. The irony of receiving upwards of a dozen "One-Time" pins over the course of the last 6 weeks is not lost on us!
In addition to the problems with technology at MSB, yesterday we also discovered a laughable and unanticipated problem with the ridiculously low "daily limit" that they put on their debit cards. I was trying to purchase airfare to Europe, for around $2,000. My debit card kept getting declined, so I called MSB to find out what was going on, since I knew I had plenty of $$ in my account. The customer service rep informed me that there is a $500 max daily limit on all of their debit cards!! $500??? I burst out laughing when she told me this. $500 is crazy low. The worst part is, however, is that she was UNABLE TO GET APPROVAL TO RAISE IT for me, because my account is "too new." She also was not able to give me a timeframe for when I might get approval for a raise of the limit. But in any event, at no time would they raise it above $1,000. So basically, if you want to use your debit card to make a purchase of more than $500, you have to call the bank. Every. Time. !!!
I understand that identity theft is a serious problem, and that banks needs to take steps to protect themselves. But making it so cumbersome that I cannot even spend my own money without jumping through all these ridiculous hoops is just unacceptable. After the rep told me that they won't even consider raising my limit to (an also too low) amount of $1,000, and that I should just use another method of payment for these types of transactions, I knew that was the last straw.
My husband and I will be closing our account and moving our $$ to another bank in the very near future. This bank is stuck wayyyyyy in the past, and their customer service SUCKS. Do yourself a favor and bank elsewhere. read more
