Banker with balls

>>Update: Thanks to Phil and Jim for pointing out that Wachovia doesn't give you $1 - they merely transfer $1 of your OWN money from your checking account to the special savings holding account. So that makes it far less attractive than my initial calculations. Also a good lesson in the importance of carefully reading bank marketing literature to not miss the details! 

So soon we'll see Wachovia breaking a new advertising program for their Way2Save "savings account". The spokesperson says they will make it "fun" for consumers although I miss where the fun part comes in. Similar to credit card rewards, the "fun" is primarily in shopping and then getting a small cut back from those funds.

The program seems quite rich (for first 3 years), paying $1 per debit card transaction or online bill pay, plus additional levels of complexity in limited transfers, changing interest rates and bonus payments. If you assumed no bank fees incurred with Wachovia, by my quick comparison calculations (per month 15 check card transactions, 3 bill pays, no additional deposits vs. 3.15% APY at ING DIRECT) you would need approximately $7,500 in an ING DIRECT Electric Orange account to earn more in interest a year than through your free Wachovia checking account linked up to Way2Save. Naturally there are additional comparisons in terms of ease, functionality, fees, etc. (Instead of using a debit card but a credit card with 1% cash back and paid your bill in full, the avg. balance you would need would be even lower).

Since you are limited to no more than $100 a month in additional deposits, and the account is opened with a $0 balance it really seems to be more of a checking account/check card rewards/cash back program than a "savings account". At the end of 3 years it converts to a regular savings accounts. So a great way to build habit and lock in customers into the use of their checking account. 

For those who already have a checking account with Wachovia and not willing to shop around for a better deal, seems like a no brainer to add this account. Curious to see the advertising! You have to open the account in a branch. A bummer for those who prefer to do their banking online. Let's see how this compares to the success of Bank of America's Keep the Change program. A pity that it takes so much complexity in banking to make something "fun". But hey, anything that will help people save, is a good thing.