Update 12/4/23: Extended until December 31, 2023.
Update 11/7/23: Deal is back from 11/7 to 12/3
Update 4/12/23: Deal is back and valid until 6/30/23. Hat tip to reader Amy
Update 2/5/23: Extended to 2/28/23
Update 1/5/23: Extended till 1/31/23.
Update 7/4/22: Bonus has been increased from $200 to $400. Direct deposit requirement increased. Hat tip to reader alopez14
Update 4/17/22: Deal is back and valid until January 31st 2023
Update 3/19/20: Deal is back and valid until June 30th, 2020.
Update 10/05/19: Deal is back and valid until December 31st, 2019.
Update 8/12/19: Deal is available again and valid until September 30th, 2019. Hat tip to reader Dan R
update 2/10/19: Bonus has been increased to $200 from $150.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200
- Availability:Â MD & PA only
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $1,250
- Additional requirements:
- Hard/soft pull:Â Â Soft
- ChexSystems:Â Yes
- Credit card funding:Â None
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â $100, 90 days
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â
March 31st, 2019 June 30th, 2019 September 30th, 2019 December 31st, 2019 June 30th, 202012/31/2022
Contents
The Offer
- PeoplesBank is offering a bonus of $400 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements within 45 days of account opening:
- Receive a direct deposit of at least $1,250
The Fine Print
- One bonus will be credited to an eligible new PeoplesBank checking account opened online for new or existing clients who have not had an existing checking account relationship with the Bank within 24 months.
- To qualify, a minimum of one direct deposit in the amount of $350 or more must occur in the account within 45 days of account opening and the account must be in good standing with a positive balance.
- Qualifying direct deposits include electronic deposits from payroll, Social Security, or retirement benefits and do not include electronic transfers or credits such as account-to-account transfers or those made with internet payment services.
- Bonus will be paid in the form of a statement credit to the account after the 45 day period and may take up to two statement cycles to appear.
- Accounts must be opened online by September 30, 2019 to qualify.
- Limit one bonus per client regardless of the number of accounts opened or titling of accounts.
- Offer does not apply to employees of PeoplesBank and their immediate family members.
- Bonus paid to the client is reportable for tax purposes.
- A premature account closure fee of $100 will be assessed for accounts closed within 90 days of account opening.
- All checking accounts require a $25 minimum opening deposit.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees
Early Account Termination Fee
According to the fine print they do charge an early account termination fee this fee is $100 if closed within 90 days.
Our Verdict
Previously they had a similar $150 checking bonus but that require making debit card transactions of $50 or more as well. This will be added to our best checking bonuses as it’s a relatively easy bonus to meet the requirements for and there is no monthly service fee to worry about.
Big thanks to reader, fST who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
DP:
11/7 – Applied
11/8 – Denied due to being outside of their service area (I live less than a mile from a branch??) Rep said it was an error in their system and she manually approved my account.
11/29 – $1,001 standard employee ACH from Chase Biz Checking w/ memo “Payroll”
12/6 – $400 Bonus posted, description “Rewards Earned: 400”
Debit card finally came in the mail on 12/8 lol
Lengthy, negative experience with this bank:
On November 7, 2023, I opened a checking account with People’s Bank via their online system.
However, on November 8, I received an email from the bank stating that my account could not be opened because I live outside of their footprint. On that same date, my opening deposit of $25 was withdrawn from my external account by People’s Bank.
On November 14, I contacted the bank by phone to find out the status of my $25, and a representative told me that they were mailing out checks that day to all account holders in my situation.
On November 29, I still had not received my refund check, so I contacted the bank by phone again. A representative told me that the bank had sent the check to my old address (which was not the address I used on my application) and that a statement addressed to that same old address had been returned to them. However, no one at the bank had told me this until I took the initiative to call. I then asked them to send the check to the correct address. The representative told me she needed to speak with personnel in another department and would call me back later that day. I provided my call-back number.
On November 30, I still had not received a call from the previous rep, so I called the bank once again. A new rep told me that she would get in touch with the previous rep and the other department’s personnel and call me back. I requested this call be made by the end of the day as a result of the numerous calls and extensive time I had already invested in this issue. The rep returned my call later that day and told me that, indeed, a certified check had been sent to my old address. She told me I needed to wait until the bank received that check back in the mail before they could issue a new check. I told her that was unacceptable because of the delay I already experienced and the uncertainty of the check’s even being returned. Thus, I requested the bank issue me a new check and mail it immediately. The rep told me she needed to discuss that with a supervisor and would call me back later that day.
Finally, today, December 1, I received a call from a rep telling me that a new check was being issued today.
I had filed a complaint with the FDIC earlier today, as well, which I will update if/when I receive my refund.
In short, glad I only sent $25 as the opening deposit, and good luck finding anyone at this bank who can help you without significant effort on your part.
The pattern seems to be raising and extending promo bonuses with little affect on increasing their size, deposits, and reach. Marketing tries to promote and grow bank footprint with bonuses while their backend gremlins didn’t get the memo closing accounts due to “outside of service area” BS. Unless they overhaul the fraud dept. OR tighten their leash and loosen up on geo-fenced zip codes policies, the likelihood of acct. closure after approval remains high. Reminds me of the Teachers FCU fiasco awhile back. They really played a number on many. Never got that Chex stain off the records.
MD resident here, applied yesterday and today I received the email saying “Unfortunately, we cannot open your account at this time as it appears you do not reside in our service area” I think under availability, the post should say “Only specific zip codes of MD and PA based on Peoplesbank service area”
I am in PA and I opened the checking account yesterday. Today I received an email that the account is cancelled as I am outside the service area.
This is area specific deal, not gonna work even if your in state and not within Branch service area.
Here is the service area for this bank:
https://www.peoplesbanknet.com/find-a-location/all-service-areas/
Control + F to see if you’re eligible. They will deny your application and they do spot check on account opening to be sure what you entered matches your driver’s license.
I don’t think its just a spot check, they are very hands on and seem to call every applicant to verbally confirm the AML questions.
I’m from one of the states, still got this message :
” You recently applied for an online account with PeoplesBank. Unfortunately, we cannot open your account at this time as it appears you do not reside in our service area.
We appreciate your interest in PeoplesBank and welcome the opportunity to speak directly with you to help you understand why your request could not be completed.”
Same here , from listed state and just got email today that I am out of service area. So its service area specifi?
It would appear so. I have several locations within 30mins / 15miles of me, so I am a bit surprised I don’t qualify. Oh well.
For some reason, my comments keep getting deleted, so let’s try this again:
I opened an account yesterday from eastern PA and had access to online banking, but no accounts showed up under my login. This morning, my login was disabled, and the phone rep told me that IT was working on the issue and would contact me. Shortly thereafter, I received an email stating that my account was closed because I do not live within their service area, even though my opening deposit was debited from my external account this morning.
In sum, it seems this bank is very location-specific and perhaps more so now than in the past because I did have an account with them in 2017.
Like other posters below, my login ID was locked this morning. I called and was told that an electronic banking rep would call me back when accessibility was restored due to a problem with their system. However, about 2 hours later, I received an email that my account was closed because I live outside of their service area. (I am in eastern PA.) Hopefully, my initial deposit will be refunded promptly.
Thus, this bank is quite location-specific, but I can find no information on their website that lists actual zip codes for their service area, simply a map of branches.