Tailor-Made Banking: Craft Your Personalized Financial Institution

Union Bank, ranking fourth among Californian banks with over $60 billion in deposits, is rolling out a new way for customers to manage their finances called ‘Banking By Design.’ Although Union Bank has branches in California, Oregon, and Washington, this new feature is only available to California residents right now. The user-friendly online platform allows customers to explore different services and see how each choice impacts their monthly fees.

The basic service fee is $3 per month, which you can avoid if you set up a direct deposit of at least $250 each statement period, compared to the previous $100 requirement. Opening an account requires a minimum deposit of $100. Services such as using debit and credit cards, online and mobile banking, and receiving email and text alerts are all free.

If you want online bill pay, it’s $1.50 per month, but this fee is waived for all of 2013. Other optional features, like paper statements, unlimited checks, incoming wire transfers, money orders, traveler’s checks, and cashier’s checks, each come with a $1 monthly fee. The most expensive fee is $3 for using non-Union Bank ATMs, limited to two transactions per statement period.

Customers can design their personalized accounts at bankingbydesign.com. Once customization is complete, they need to visit or call a local Union Bank branch to open the account. However, a fully online process will be ready in two months, starting January 2013.

‘Banking By Design’ provides a variety of optional features with transparent pricing. While not everyone will need all the features, some can help save money. Union Bank distinguishes itself by clearly listing all possible account fees, except overdraft fees, which aren’t included. Similar to national banks like Chase and Citibank, it’s user-friendly in fee disclosures, but Union Bank makes it even simpler by automatically calculating monthly costs, so customers know what they’ll pay.