- What is a PerkStreetSM account?
- What rewards do I earn with my PerkStreet FinancialSM Debit MasterCard®?
- How much can I earn in rewards?
- How do I earn rewards?
- How can PerkStreet offer so many rewards?
- Is my money safe?
- Does PerkStreet have branches?
- How do I deposit money?
- How do I withdraw money?
- Will I be charged for ATM usage?
- How can I fund my account when I first apply?
- What fees does PerkStreet charge?
- What is the difference between overdraft protection and non-sufficient funds fee?
- Why do you offer overdraft protection?
- Why would I want to pay a fee for overdraft protection?
What is a PerkStreet account?
It’s an FDIC insured checking account that gives you more debit card rewards than any other account in America. When you use your PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard without entering a PIN, you earn free coffee, music or 2% cash back, plus up to 5% cash back in popular categories.
A PerkStreet checking account lets you:
Prekstreet | Best Checking Accounts for Bad Credit | Banks That Don’t Use Chexsystems
Buy things with your PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard, cash or checks
Use the largest free network of ATMs in the country
Withdraw money without charge at any merchant that allows you to get cash back when making a purchase
Transfer money online between your other bank accounts and your PerkStreet checking account
Pay bills online
Get help over the phone any time of the day – we answer most calls within 30 seconds
What rewards do I earn with my PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard?
Choose which reward you want to earn first, switch anytime:
Cash back rewards: Choose from a MasterCard® Gift Card or gift cards from Target®, Best Buy®, Amazon.com®, GAP and Ticketmaster®. MasterCard Gift Cards are good anywhere Debit MasterCard is accepted.
Music rewards: Choose to receive credit for songs at iTunes®, Rhapsody® or Amazon.com® Gift Cards for MP3s or millions of other items at Amazon.com
Coffee rewards: Choose a Starbucks Card, a Dunkin’ Donuts Card, or reloadable gift cards from Peet’s Coffee and Tea® or Bruegger’s Bagels®
How much can I earn in rewards?
Get 2% cash back on all non-PIN purchases when your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is $5,000 or more. No bank gives you more debit card rewards.
or
Get 1% cash back when your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is less than $5,000, which is still phenomenal compared to other banks.
Plus, get up to 5% cash back in popular categories no matter what your balance is. We will announce the retailers and associated time periods for earning up to 5% cash back at those retailers via Twitter, our Facebook page or other company communications.
If you choose to earn coffee or music instead of cash back, you’ll earn:
Music: For every $100 in non-PIN debit card purchases, you will earn 2 songs, worth $1 each, when your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is $5,000 or more, or 1 song when it is below $5,000.
You will earn up to 5 songs for every $100 in non-PIN debit card purchases at the selected retailers specified by PerkStreetSM.
Coffee: For every $200 in non-PIN debit card purchases, you will earn 2 cups of coffee, worth $2 each, when your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is $5,000 or more, or 1 cup when it is below $5,000. You will earn up to 5 cups of coffee for every $200 in non-PIN debit card purchases at the selected retailers specified by PerkStreet.
You may switch rewards programs at any time with no penalty.
How do I earn rewards?
Pick your favorite reward when you open your account and you’ll earn unlimited rewards automatically when you use your debit card without entering your PIN.
This means anything you buy online or over the phone using your debit card, and anytime you are at a register and choose “credit” instead of “debit” you’ll earn rewards. And with most every purchase you make, you should have the option to select “credit” and earn rewards. If you aren’t given the option, ask the cashier.
No matter how you use your PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard the money is withdrawn from your checking account; you are not borrowing on credit, even if you choose that option.
Selecting “credit” when making purchases with your debit card means you want to use the MasterCard payment network that can handle credit or debit card purchases.
How can PerkStreet offer so many rewards?
Our customers don’t use branches and so we don’t spend the billions of dollars every year that other banks do to build and keep branches open. We use the money we save to give our customers what they really want:
The most debit card rewards available
The largest free ATM network in the country
Super fast phone service
Is my money safe?
Yes. Every PerkStreet account is FDIC insured up to $250,000 and all PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCards are protected by The MasterCard Zero Liability policy. This policy ensures that you won’t be held responsible for any unauthorized transactions. Consult issuer for additional details or visit www.mastercard.us/zero-liability.html. Conditions and exceptions apply – See Cardholder Agreement.
Does PerkStreet have branches?
No. Our customers don’t use branches and so we don’t spend the billions of dollars every year that other banks do to build and keep branches open. We use the money we save to give our customers what they really want:
The most debit card rewards available
The largest free ATM network in the country
Super fast phone service
Back to topHow do I deposit money?
There are two ways to deposit a check:
Free overnight delivery: Use this form and mail your checks overnight for free from 3,400 UPS Stores® and Mailboxes Etc.® locations nationwide and get a tracking number to ensure delivery.
There are two ways to deposit money automatically:
Direct deposit: Sign up for direct deposit with your employer and have all or a portion of your paycheck deposited into your account automatically.
Online transfers: Move money easily between your PerkStreet account and outside accounts.
One way to deposit cash:
MoneyGram® ExpressPaymentSM: Deposit cash free at 18,000 locations nationwide, including Wal-Mart stores. Make sure to bring this information with you:
• Receive Code: 3002 – This code is needed by the MoneyGram agent to send your deposit.
• Company Name: The Bancorp Bank (this is our banking partner).
• City, State: Wilmington, DE
• Account Number: Your 10-digit account number – Do not use your Social Security Number. If this number is incorrect your deposit could be delayed.
How do I withdraw money?
You can withdraw money without a charge at one of 37,000 ATMs within the STARsf® surcharge-free network or at any merchant that offers cash back with purchases.
You may also use ATMs outside of the network but you’ll pay a $2 fee plus any fee the ATM owner may charge.
Will I be charged for ATM usage?
You will not be charged any fees when you withdraw money from one of 37,000 ATMs within the STARsf® surcharge-free network or at any register that offers cash back with purchases.
You may use ATMs outside of the network but you’ll pay a $2 fee plus any fee the ATM owner may charge. No bank gives you more free ATMs nationwide than PerkStreet.
How can I fund my account when I first apply?
We offer three options. You can:
- Use an existing checking account number to transfer funds into your account
- Use a debit card to fund your PerkStreet account
- Use a credit card to fund your PerkStreet account
We started PerkStreet because we wanted to reward people who choose to spend responsibly on debit cards as opposed to creating debt with a credit card. So you might ask why we are OK with allowing people to use a credit card to fund their PerkStreet account. The simple answer is the way banking systems work, we can’t necessarily screen for credit cards exclusively. Do we think it’s smart to fund with a credit card? That totally depends on your situation and is your call. We aren’t going to tell you what to do and we can’t prevent it, so it’s up to our customers to make the right choice for themselves. But odds are if you’re smart enough to be signing up for a PerkStreet account, you’re going to make the best choice for you regardless of what we say here. Your mom would be so proud.
For fraud reasons, we limit the initial amount you can deposit to $500, though that cap increases over time as we get to know you better.
What fees does PerkStreet charge?
We want you to be able to use your money to earn perks, not pay a bunch of fees. That’s why you’ll never pay a maintenance fee when you use your account each month. And there are no account minimums, low balance fees, or charges to make purchases with your debit card.
Our fees are outlined below:
PerkStreet Fees
Overdraft fee
When you spend more money than you have in your account we may choose to approve the transaction as a convenience to you and will charge you a fee for this service. This is optional protection which you can elect to have or decline if you would prefer to have your transaction declined to avoid the fee.
$25 per item
Returned item fee
Also known as a bounced check or failed transaction fee. It applies in situations like when you write a check or make an online bill payment or pre-authorize a payment for more money than you have in your account. If your account isn’t covered by overdraft protection, your check will bounce or the transaction will fail. If this occurs we charge you a returned item fee. This fee will also apply if you signed up for overdraft protection, exceed the overdraft protection limits and a transaction is declined.
$23 per item
Inactivity fee
While there is never a monthly fee for using your account, if you don’t use your account in a given month you will be assessed a fee. Doing any of the following at least once each month ensures that you won’t be assessed a monthly inactivity fee: making a transaction with your debit card, writing a check that clears the account, using Online Bill Pay, initiating a withdrawal or making a deposit to the account.
$4.50
Additional book of checks
We’ll send you your first book of checks for free. Each additional book of checks you order will be billed based on the type of checks you select.
Varies based on type of checks ordered
Research Fee
When you make requests that require us to conduct research to resolve, we may charge you an hourly fee for conducting this research. This includes IRS levy, legal requests, writs and/or subpoenas.
$25 per hour, $10 minimum
Treasurer’s check fee
Also called a cashier’s check, this is a check from the bank where the funds are validated by the bank itself.
$8 per check
Standard debit card replacement fee / Expedited replacement debit card fee
If you need a replacement debit card we’ll send you one free of charge. If you need to get your replacement debit card more quickly, you can request expedited delivery for a fee.
Free / $50 per request
Stop payment fee
When you wish to cancel a check that you have sent out but has not yet been cashed.
$15 per request
Incoming wire transfer fee / Credit card funding fee
PerkStreet does not charge a fee for wire transfers into your account, making a direct deposit, online transfers/ACH, by mailing us a check via standard mail, or free overnight delivery using a MailBoxes Etc® or UPS Store® location. Should you transfer money from a credit card line into your checking account, the card company charges us a fee that we pass on to you.
Free / 2.5% of funds loaded
Deposit item returned fee
If you deposit a check that turns out to be a bad check and the Federal Reserve pulls the funds out of your account, you will incur this fee.
$7 per item
ATM fee/Non-Network ATM fee
You won’t pay any fees as long as you use ATMs within the STARsf® surcharge-free network. If you use an ATM outside the STARsf® surcharge-free network you will be assessed this fee.
Free/$2.00 per transaction
Foreign exchange transaction fee
This is a fee that is charged when you use your debit card outside the United States.
1% of transaction amount
Outgoing wire transfer fee
In the event that you need to send a wire transfer from your PerkStreet account, you will be charged this fee.
$12 Domestic/$45 International
Back to topWhat is the difference between overdraft protection and a non-sufficient funds fee?
Overdraft protection is kind of like an insurance policy that allows your checks and debit card transactions to go through, even if you don’t have the money in your account to cover them. We provide this protection at our discretion and whether we approve the transaction depends on a number of factors, including the amount of the transaction and the past activity in your account. We charge an overdraft protection fee for this service because it costs us money to provide it. You may choose to receive overdraft protection when you apply for your account.
If you do not choose to receive overdraft protection, and you were to use your debit card when there isn’t enough money in your account to cover the purchase, your transaction would be rejected. We do not charge a fee for this.
If you do not choose to receive overdraft protection, you would incur a non-sufficient funds fee and your payments would be rejected in instances where you write a check for more money than you have in your account, causing the check to bounce. The retailer or biller may also charge you a fee.
Why do you offer overdraft protection?
We do it because some of our customers don’t want to have their transactions declined. It’s not something that everyone wants or needs, but for those who do want it, it’s there. And unlike most other banks, we have always required people to opt-in to having overdraft protection.
Why would I want to pay a fee for overdraft protection?
Obviously nobody wants to pay fees. But our customers who have overdraft protection like the fact that they’re covered, even if they make a mistake. Overdraft protection also protects them from the hassle — and additional cost — of bounced checks. Don’t worry, if you’re not interested, you can always opt-out of overdraft protection. But for those who want it, it’s there for you.