Apple Bank for Savings

I wish they wouldn’t wait so long to deposit payroll into our accounts. Most other banks deposit payroll at 9 pm on Thursday night. They always wait until after 7 am Friday mornings to deposit people’s payroll. (Great for them, as they can bounce more funds, bad for us because I can’t pay any bills until FrIday night because I’m working). I called them and they said its when their computer download gets done. I say get that download done like other banks on Thursdays after closing. It’s my money you are not releasing and holding hostage every week. Very frustrating, want to switch banks because of this but I have that account for a gazillion years.
Also, just wish they would get more proactive with the times. ATM machines need updating like giving out 50’s, instead of 20 dollar bills. Make payroll go in Thursday’s nights, like other banks. Get more computer options so we can bank better. Kinda antique.

Rude and unprofessional – just like, YA KNOW, the Big Apple! GET IT?!
Their attitude is if you don’t like it, too bad. The one manditory star from Unilocal can be attributed to the architecture of the building itself. You’ll get to see a lot of it while you’re waiting indefinitely. Made my skin crawl.

I switched to Apple Bank a few years ago, because I thought they would be a better institution than a Wells Fargo or Chase. While they may not have gotten any bailout money, they attempt to make up for it by hitting customers with TONS OF FEES. They might be a good savings bank, but if you use them for credit/​debit transaction you will be hard pressed to know how much money you have in your account, when transactions will be cleared, or how long it will take to deposit a check. Typical check deposit takes about a week, and transactions can take anywhere from 1 to 7 days to clear. And with locations few and far between, you may have to go well out of your way to get any banking done.

I like that it is tied to an honest Savings Credit Union, and does not engage in risky derivatives trading (costing the general public via financial bailouts paid for by our taxes and real inflation when their bets go wrong), but mostly solid local investments so it is not likely to be in trouble anytime.
Customer service is excellent so far, although I sometimes have to wait. Fees are reasonably low*, much lower than HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank etc. and they provide online access & payments. On the minus side, they are not set up for sending and receiving funds from non US countries. For this I use a small bank in Chinatown that also is very safe and inexpensive (but doesn’t have online facilities, which can be considered an advantage, actually, in case of internet crashes etc).
For larger transactions and financial services, it’s an other matter.
The branch at West 73^rd St and Broadway is very neat, set in an historical building, with a basement with a working safe, which you can visit. This location has been probably been used for many movies. A bit like NYC ‘s Grand Central or Philadelphia’s train station
(*) HSBC used to be free for me, grandfathered as an early customer; then no more. In the grand scheme of things a few dollars per month isn’t much, but when you consider that you are giving them your cash, which they should be paying you for the privilege, and instead charge you anywhere from 10 to 15% interest when all is said and done, i wonder why anyone is still using them. TD Bank –commercial accounts– also became expensive, from free as grandfathered from Commerce Bank to about $ 200/​year equivalent for the privilege of holding my money
Will be updating this review as time goes by and I can assess the quality of its services.
(reposted from the review on the E 42^nd Street Branch)

I loveeee the architecture in here. The clerks are always well mannered and polite and the bank is huge! The basement has personal storage open to anyone.

I have been at this 73^rd street Apple bank for more than 20 years, so believe me when I say that customer service was never great here. However, in the last few years it has taken a steady decrease. Tellers are sitting in their chairs NOT looking up, counting things, etc. They will leave you standing in line for however long they wish. Additionally the supervisor in the «cage» (a man in his fifties. .. don’t know his name) acts the same. Most of the employees (tellers) seem unhappy and obviously do not like their jobs. My daughter recently moved to Plainview, NY in Long Island. I stopped at the Apple Savings branch there last week. What a difference! Tellers look up as soon as you walk in. They smile and invite you to come over for your transaction. It looks like a lively, happy group of workers. The contrast was EXTREME. I have decided that I am switching to TD Bank, which is just a block away from the 73^rd street Apple Bank. I suggest you all do the same!

I figured going with a local bank that happens to be on the corner of my block, would be a good idea for my small business. My thinking was, they will work harder to earn my business. Boy was I WRONG. Not only do they take FOREVER to clear checks but it is IMPOSSIBLE to reach them via telephone! They actually have a recording that they are too busy to take my call at this time… Their excuse? They bought Immigrant Bank. Avoid Apple like the plague. As soon as I can, I will be moving my business elsewhere and will never look back.

Stunning building, inside and out.
My 2^nd bank ever … probably was like 11 when I opened up an account there.
Held and touched a python at some special event they had inside the bank … don’t remember if it was during normal business hours or not.
Apartments above the bank go for mucho dinero!!!

I have been with Apple Bank for a year or 2 now and I’ve just about had enough. I can’t wait to switch to a credit union this week. The customer service is always terrible. Their hours are terrible. Deposits after 1pm don’t get posted till the next day and they’re only open till 4pm. This makes it impossible to make a deposit after work. Checks take longer to clear at this bank than any other bank I’ve ever had. I chose to skip the «overdraft protection» as a way to avoid getting overdraft fees and have my transactions declined instead. Nobody told me at the time that without overdraft protection you still get charged a $ 35 dollar fee regardless. So my transactions were denied AND I was charged a fee. How insane is that? Why wouldn’t anyone explain that to me when I signed up and said No to overdraft protection? I’ve only had terrible experiences talking to bank representatives. Earlier this week they refused to refund overdraft fees that were incurred during the hurricane when it was impossible for me to make deposits. Just all around a nightmare. Stay away from this bank and go to a credit union instead.

I don’t actually do my banking here but it is gorgeous inside! I’m guessing it was a cathedral before. I went in looking for a notary and the staff were all useless but that shouldn’t stop you from going in the bank for a look see

This branch and Apple Bank generally are a disaster. It is fairly easy to get free checking. After that, you get what you pay for. Live person services are uniformly and consistently lousy. Automated services are as good or bad as any other bank.

In a landmarked building which has gone through several incarnations as a bank, this place has all the usual services. The underworked and sparse in number staff turns over frequently and is often not very helpful.
Exception: Ms. Veitch is very patient and attentive.
There are, however, sometimes, free classical concerts in this huge venue.
And the apartments upstairs in this building went for $ 1– 8 million!!!