New Haven, CT, July 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- July 27, 2017 -- BankMobile, the leading provider of financial aid refund disbursement services in U.S. higher education since 2001, announced today that BankMobile VIBE account holders who selected to have their financial aid refunds deposited into BankMobile VIBE accounts save more than $62,000,000 per year in banking fees versus had they deposited their funds into traditional checking accounts. BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, is a digital bank with the mission of empowering Americans with the tools, products and services that make banking more affordable and accessible.

“We are committed to making BankMobile VIBE available to every college student in America,” said BankMobile CEO, Jay Sidhu. “Students are unlikely to qualify for low-fee checking products, ensuring that those who can least afford to pay banking fees pay the most. We think this is a disservice to students and we want to turn things around.”  

To be eligible for a BankMobile VIBE account, students must attend a school that partners with BankMobile Disbursements. All students at partnering colleges are eligible to receive an account, regardless of prior banking history. BankMobile Disbursements provides disbursement services to nearly 5 million students on 800 campuses (one out of every four college students in the United States). BankMobile VIBE has no opening or minimum balance requirements. After students leave campus they can continue to take advantage of BankMobile’s low-cost VIBE account – enabling them to make BankMobile their bank for life. 

Students who choose BankMobile VIBE are protected by U.S. Department of Education rules against unwanted marketing, overdraft fees and offers of credit. BankMobile VIBE account holders can access 55,000 fee-free ATMs worldwide, more than Bank of America (16k), Chase (16k) and Wells Fargo (13k) combined. Students with traditional student checking accounts are guaranteed no such fee restrictions, free access to cash and other protections. 

According to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, more than one out of every three U.S. college students is above the age of 25. Student checking accounts offered at banks do not cater to the growing non-traditional student segment that often does not qualify for monthly fee waivers on student accounts because they are above age limits set by banks – often 24 or 25. BankMobile VIBE has no age restrictions.

Visit www.bankmobilevibe.com/compare to see how BankMobile VIBE stacks up against other student checking accounts.

“We’ve tried to create the most student-friendly account in America while disrupting the traditional banking model,” Sidhu continued. “Our no-branch, mobile- and online-only approach is designed to appeal to the needs and preferences of today’s students and enables us to keep their costs low.” BankMobile VIBE’s full fee schedule is available at https://www.vibeaccount.com/studentaccount/feeschedules.do.

NOTES ON CALCULATIONS: 

• According to the CFPB, the average annual cost of a traditional checking account is more than $118 per year. The average annual cost of owning a BankMobile VIBE account is less than $34 per year, for an average annual savings of more than $84 per student per year.

• The cost of BankMobile VIBE is based on BankMobile VIBE account holders who made a transaction in the past year, including students who pay no monthly fee, and former students who may pay a monthly fee if monthly deposit requirements are not met. Looking only at enrolled students the savings over traditional checking accounts is even greater.

• The cost of competitor fees was generated by a CFPB report on average checking account fees (http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201407_cfpb_report_datapoint_overdrafts.pdf). According to the report, overdraft and NSF fees accounted for more than 75% of total fees and the 18-25 age group incurs more overdraft and NSF fees than any other age group.

BankMobile Disbursements Saves Colleges Money As Well 

In addition to providing savings to their students, colleges and universities that partner with BankMobile Disbursements save money. BankMobile helps schools implement all-electronic processing to avoid the costs associated with printing, mailing and servicing paper checks, provides robust reporting and tracking technology and handles all student communications and customer service related to student aid disbursement. 

“Approximately 80 percent of our student body receives some type of grant, loan or scholarship” said Dr. Jim Bookout, Senior Vice Chancellor of Finance at Troy University in Alabama, a BankMobile Disbursements partner since 2006. “The savings on paper and postage alone is around $250,000 over the last decade. We considered handling this internally, but after considering staffing requirements, system changes and the cost and risks of hosting banking information, all the strategies BankMobile has bundled together for us have created a win-win situation for us and our students in terms of efficiency,” Bookout added.

About BankMobile

BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, is America's largest mobile-first bank. BankMobile Disbursements provides BankMobile Refund Management®, an industry-leading service that processes and disburses financial aid credit balances to students on behalf of college and university administrators and offers BankMobile VIBE, an optional checking account for students. Born from an innovative system that transformed this critical campus process over the span of more than 17 years, BankMobile optimizes costs for higher education administrators and provides a great experience for students that is designed with compliance and consumer safeguards in mind. BankMobile is operating as the digital banking division of Customers Bank, which is a Federal Reserve regulated and FDIC-insured commercial bank. For more information, please visit www.bankmobile.com.

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