ParkStreet – The Online Bank Is Up For a Closure

Offering its users rewards perks, ParkStreet Financial rose to prominence during 2011, when the large banks were heaping in new fees on their account holders in their response to consumer friendly reforms in the finance industry. When a debit card usage plan was introduced by the Bank of America, that was scrapped later, ParkStreet almost doubled up their number of customers with their reversed relationship with the customers and also by offering them reward points. The online bank was offering their customers with more than $5000 in their account 2% cash back offer on their debit card usage.

But situation started to change when the bank withdrew $5000 cap and announced that every account holder will get 1% cash back on their debit card usage on most of their purchases, and 2% from some selected outlets irrespective of their account balance. The company seemed to have taken such a strong decision based on the fact that the threshold balance was not maintained by most account holders.

Though it made the deal a lot more attractive, but at the same time the bank also made it evident that there was actually no sustainable business model for it. Though from 26th September the company will cease all its activities, but account holders will still be allowed to use cards and checks through the two servicing branches and all accounts will also be automatically converted.

But customers with unclaimed balances with ParkStreeet are surely the unlucky group, and the bank has already apologized to their customers for not having the financial capability anymore to pay them the rewards that they have earned. But this can hardly comfort the account holders as they are finding that the cash rewards which they have earned are no more useful.