NetBank, an exclusively online bank headquartered in Atlanta, is concentrating a new market toward college students who don’t have the time or resources to travel to a bank.

The online banking capabilities offer more convenience and rewards than a traditional “bricks and mortar” bank, said Rich Jeffers, a spokesman for NetBank.

Making time to go into a bank branch can be difficult, Jeffers said. While a traditional bank lacks quality rates and charges “inherent costs” to maintain the branch, online banking with NetBank offers better rates, newer technology and higher rewards.

“Students today are 100 percent online literate, with their lifestyles geared around connectivity,” Jeffers said.

NetBank is at the front of technology as far as usability online, with account alerts available through cell phones and personal digital assistants, he said.

Students need a driver’s license and an e-mail account to set up an account online. While many banks offer online services, NetBank eliminates the need for any physical deposits.

Compared to US Bank, the NetBank return rates are considerably higher. For a US Bank student checking account with at least $200, the annual percentage yield (APY), the percentage of the account balance yielded to the account holder over the course of a year, is 0.05 percent and a regular free checking account yields 0.01 percent if the balance is between $2,000 and $9,999, said a customer service agent at a call center in Denver. A NetBank checking account offers a 1 to 1.5 percent APY.

A savings account through US Bank offers 0.1 percent APY if under $1,000 and 0.2 percent if between $1,001 and $24,999, the service agent said. NetBank offers savings accounts with APYs between 2.63 to 3.04 percent.

However, NetBank charges $3 each month to host a checking account, $9 if the balance falls below $500. US Bank offers free checking accounts.

Like most banks, NetBank’s features include a free online bill pay option. Students who have trouble remembering to mail bills each month can bypass the hassle by choosing to automatically have their bills paid for them through their online account.

Users simply need to fill in the mailing information for who is to receive the payment, such as an electric company, submit the amount to be paid and money will be sent directly out of the user’s account to the recipient.

Getting money out of the account is also free of charge at any NetBank automatic teller machine. The closest NetBank ATM to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is located at the George Webb Restaurant at 2935 N. Oakland Ave.

A major drawback of NetBank is the difficulty in making a deposit. While some ATMs have the ability to accept deposits, there are none in the UWM area.

Another option to depositing money into an account online is QuickPost, which is a free service offered at any UPS location. Users must ask for a QuickPost envelope, and the deposit and deposit slip will be shipped over-night to Atlanta, where it will be placed into the account the next business day, Jeffers said. Deposit slips come with checks ordered through the online account.

Ed Holpfer, a junior, said that he banks with a branch and wants to set up an account online, but hasn’t had the time to. While he said he doesn’t think the $500 minimum for a SuperValue checking account is too high, he did say that the travel to a UPS store for making deposits would create more of a hassle than going to his current bank.

Users have two checking options. One is the NetValue option, which offers the user a 1 APY. SuperValue Checking offers a 1.5 percent APY. The national average APY is 0.3 percent, according to netbank.com.

SuperValue checking users face a $3 service charge each month and must maintain a minimum balance of $500. If the average daily balance falls below $500, the monthly fee will be increased to $9.

Savings accounts are also available and can be linked to a user’s checking account for overdraft protection, Jeffers said. The money market account APY is 2.63 percent, which increases to 3.04 percent with a checking account and use of a Visa Check Card, Jeffers said.

Students have the option of linking their account to their parents’ accounts as a further means to manage money. Money can be transferred into a NetBank account from any bank. Students can either share their user name and password with a parent, allowing the parent access to the balance, or the parent can set up a transfer at their own bank, with the routing number of the NetBank account.

Any problems with an online account can be directed to the 24-hour customer service line or e-mailed to customer service through the secure user portion of the Web site.

NetBank is offering a $75 sign-up bonus for opening a checking account when searched for using google.com. NetBank also has marketing partnerships with airlines such as Delta and United and offers frequent flyer miles for account holders.

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