Pacific Mercantile Bank

Unless you’re there to cash a $ 20,000,000 lottery check or something along those lines, visiting your local bank usually isn’t as much fun as it is a necessary chore.
What makes Pacific Mercantile Bank stand out from the likes of Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and all the rest?
Well, it’s not the interest rates! The state of our nation’s economy has hit PMB just as hard as all the other financial institutions — like any bank, Pacific Mercantile offers «tiered high interest checking», where in your APY is determined by the amount of your funds on deposit:
if you’ve got $ 1,500 or less, your interest rate and APY is a meager .15%, though if you’ve got $ 25,000 in their vault you earn a relatively «generous» 1.21%.
– If you’re swimming in dough and have more than $ 125,000 socked away, though, PMB only offers .50%. So if you’re planning to live life off your interest and never have to touch your capital, it’s hard to do it in today’s economic climate.
So, back to the original question: why save your money at PMB instead of the other banks? I can’t vouch for PMB’s other locations, but this particular branch sets a high premium on customer service. Their tellers, financial consultants, loan officers, and even their security guards treat every customer like they’ve just walked in with a wheelbarrow full of solid gold.
Their account consultants in particular are extraordinarily patient, friendly, and helpful with customers opening accounts, eagerly answering even the most elementary questions about how interest rates work, and how different savings tools can help people maximize their money — CDs, investments, money markets, and so on…
In today’s USA, the economy is in the basement, and most banks will give you the same range of basic services, so a clear way one bank can set itself apart from the others is in its approach to clients.
Pacific Mercantile Bank succeeds in making customers feel wanted, and not just needed. Strange how something so little can matter so much, and in the end, not be so little after all.