I've had an account with GE Interest Plus for about 16 years. GE Interest Plus, run by lender GE Capital, offers consumers a bank-like savings/checking account that pays higher interest than you'll find for similar products elsewhere. For example, while most bank accounts are now offering less than 0.5% interest, GE Interest Plus is paying 1.25%. (GE Interest Plus is not government-insured, so there is some extra risk, but in reality it's minimal.)
The other day I decided I wanted to move some money from my Vanguard account into my GE account, but to do so I needed the GE Interest Plus routing number. This shouldn't be a big deal – you can easily find the routing numbers for Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase, for instance, on those company's websites.
But try as I might I could not find the routing number on the GE Interest Plus site. So I tried to call them. Before I could talk to a human, the automated system told me I had to choose a new PIN (why??). I spent a minute and a half punching more buttons before giving up. I know 90 seconds isn't a long time, but all I wanted was the routing number.
So I used the "Contact Us" form on the GE Interest Plus site and sent them a message simply asking for the routing number. After 48 hours, they responded and gave me the routing number, which is 274070442.
I still find it strange that it took that much effort and time to get the routing number. By making it hard to move money into a GE account, the company is actually hurting itself.
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ge interest plus does pay higher interest. money is reasonably safe [much safer than similar product by ford or caterpillar]; they have been in business for decades without problems. they just changed respondent bank and are increasing fees and reducing services to increase their profitability at consumer detriment. they now charge for blank checks which they did not before. customer service is pretty bad but that is true for most banks as well
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like BNY Mellon is managing it. I have a similar baffling PIN request when I have a call with a question to Ally Demand Notes. I entered a new PIN twice, then it fails, then they forward me to an actual person like everyone calling wants. Have a different number for automated information. They are ridiculously antiquated too, no email, no faxing thing back - all postal mail.
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