Editor’s Note: John Frainee is a PerkStreet customer by choice and a columnist at PerkStreet because he believes in what we’re building. We like to showcase his work because he has a great blog of his own. These are his opinions alone; he was not paid to share them here.

Before you sign up for a new checking account, you’re savvy enough to do your research. It doesn’t matter what company it is, you want to get the inside scoop before you take the plunge. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about signing up for a PerkStreet checking account, but you have reservations. It’s best to find a review of PerkStreet Financial before you dive in!

I don’t blame you. PerkStreet almost sounds too good to be true, and anything that good should be scrutinized before it is to be believed. Five months ago, I was like you, wondering if PerkStreet was right for my family.

It’s so, um, different!

My reservations before signing up with PerkStreet were the following:

• It’s an online checking account. Wait, online? That’s kind of different, isn’t it? Sure, online checking accounts have existed before, but it’s still new to a lot of people. How do you deposit checks and cash? How do you withdraw money?
• What’s a cash back debit card? This was new! You hardly hear of a cash back debit card! How does it work? How do you earn your cash back and in what form do you get it?
• Is it safe to use, and how’s the customer service? There are many times with my credit union when I needed customer service, and fast! Does PerkStreet provide prompt, efficient customer service? Moreover, is it safe to use PerkStreet and put my money “in the cloud (the Internet)?”

As you can see, I had a lot of questions. I didn’t know a lot about the company, and I needed to find out more. So I searched online for some answers. I found some, but nothing that talked in depth about someone’s personal experience with PerkStreet.

So I signed up and wrote a massive review.

I kept searching for them online, and eventually gained enough information to feel comfortable signing up with PerkStreet. I signed up for the great perks, but I also love to learn about financial products, and I wanted to write a review for my personal blog, The Christian Dollar. I took notes, wrote emails to the staff, asked questions, tested the online banking system, and learned so much about PerkStreet in the process that I ended up writing a weekly column for them here at the PerkStreet Blog!

After I had a better understanding of PerkStreet and knew enough to write a review, I did so on my website. It’s been getting a lot of great feedback, so I thought I’d share it with you — the readers of the PerkStreet Blog. Read the massive review and decide for yourself — is PerkStreet the right financial institution for you?

What I love about PerkStreet:

The perks. Plain and simple. They are absolutely amazing. We found that we’ll get back about $49/month in cash back by using PerkStreet. This means the “$600 per year” that PerkStreet always cites as the amount an average American family could earn by switching to PerkStreet is accurate for us.

The customer service. PerkStreet totally lived up to my expectations when it comes to dealing with them. The phone support was fast, friendly, and helpful.

The new way of banking. With PerkStreet, it feels like I am participating in something revolutionary. And truly, it is that and more. Finally, a bank that is interested in providing an excellent service for its customers!

Perhaps you’re already a PerkStreet customer. What do you love about PerkStreet? Do you agree with my review? What has been your experience? Meet us in the comments and let us know!

John Frainee is the webmaster and a writer for the ever-growing blog, The Christian Dollar. John enjoys exploring how faith and finance interact, spending time with his wife and family, and meeting readers from all over the web. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and Christian Counseling and loves encouraging others in their financial pursuits. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Interested in a guest column on the PerkStreet Blog like John has? Email the editor at kyle.psaty[at]perkstreet[dot]com

Looking to learn more about PerkStreet? Check out the PerkStreet Posts category page, where we share all kinds of thoughts and information about PerkStreet. The rest of this blog is dedicated to helping people save money and budget better whether they are customers or not.