Green Banking tips for environmentally conscious consumers
What is Green Banking?
Banks are promoting their online banking services as "Green Banking" because by banking online, customers will reduce the amount of paperwork they consume, the volume of mail they generate, and the amount of driving to-and-from branch offices. Each of which will benefit the environment and in most cases will increase a bank's efficiency and profitability.
Banks could do more to help the environment than just promote online banking. A truly green bank would reduce their carbon footprints by building more efficient branches, implementing more energy-efficient operational procedures, offering transportation services for their employees, and carefully screening their lending in environment-sensitive industries. These green banks are just now starting to emerge.
Banks could also become environment-friendly by offering products like the ones listed below:
Green Mortgages: Green mortgages allow home buyers to add as much as an additional 15% of the price of your house into your loan for upgrades including energy-efficient windows, solar panels, or water heaters. The savings in your monthly energy bills can offset the higher monthly mortgage payments and save you money in the long run. The Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) is a type of HUD-approved green mortgage that will credit you for your home’s energy efficiency in the mortgage itself. Banks offering these green mortgages will give qualified-HUD borrowers the opportunity to finance cost-effective, energy-saving improvements to their house. If you are undertaking an energy-saving house project, shop around for a bank that will offer a great deal on a green mortgage.
Green Credit Cards: A green credit card allows cardholders to earn rewards or points which can be redeemed for contributions to eco-friendly charitable organizations. These cards offer an excellent incentive for bank customers to use their green card for their expensive purchases.
What Can You Do?
Converting to online banking and mobile banking is the easiest way that you can do your part to bank green and help the environment. By setting up direct deposit paychecks, receiving electronic statements, and paying bills online you can drastically reduce the amount of paper produced by your banks. Online banking and mobile banking are also highly effective ways to keep track of your finances and to avoid late payment fees. You can also suggest that the company you work for sign up for a product called "Remote Deposit" which is offered by a growing number of banks. Remote deposit is the digital scanning and processing of checks instead of physically delivering each check to your bank for deposit. Finally, searching out for the most eco-friendly banks will increase the competition and raise the stakes for green banking.
Green Banking Deals and Offers:
ING Direct offers a paperless checking account called the ING Direct Electric Orange Account. You can pay bills online, send electronic checks online, receive your statements online, and use your check card for purchases. The Electric Orange checking account has no minimum balance requirements and no monthly maintenance fees.
First Green Bank in Florida is a committed green bank that offers lower interest rates to commercial developers who meet green building certification requirements. First Green Bank offers green checking, green money market, and green savings accounts for their customers with competitive interest rates.
Posted 3/19/09
About the Author
Clark Schultz is a Money Rates columnist who writes on the topics of finance, economy, and various savings instruments. He resides in University City, Missouri with his wife and three small children.
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