Who Owns Metabank?
Before any new financial investment, even one as simple as changing your bank, you need to do your due diligence. This means learning everything you can about your new financial provider. A quick Google search might scratch the surface of the general opinion about the bank in question, but chances are, you’ll need to look deeper.
For example, you might want to do some research into a bank’s origins and goals, as well as its guidelines, fees, and operating systems. If you’ve decided to use MetaBank, instead of a more traditional banking system, this research is even more important. In our modern world, it’s impossible to function without a working bank account, both for making and receiving payments, so this is something to seriously think about.
What will you be able to do with MetaBank? What won’t MetaBank allow? Where does MetaBank come from?
In this article, we’ll discuss the answer to all these questions and more.
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What Is MetaBank?
MetaBank is an alternative financial service, designed for users with poor or no credit who don’t wish to be tied to traditional banking systems. MetaBank is one of the leading providers of prepaid cards in the US. They specialize in prepaid cards for all occasions – travel cards, gift cards, automobile payments, cards for agricultural or business purposes, borrowing, and much more.
Since MetaBank doesn’t require credit checks, just about everyone is eligible for a MetaBank account. However, this also means that your MetaBank account and any subsequent transactions don’t impact your credit score in any way – for bad or for good.
Prepaid cards allow for an extra feeling of security, as you can rest assured that you won’t accidentally spend more than you intended. This no-credit scheme is what makes MetaBank accounts suitable for people with no credit or bad credit.
MetaBank’s optional direct deposit system, which you can sign up for when you open an ACE Flare account, allows users to receive deposits up to two days early, and also eliminates the need for handling paper checks.
A Brief History Of MetaBank
MetaBank is a banking service based in the United States and has four main locations: Storm Lake, Iowa, Brookings, Sioux Falls, and South Dakota. MetaBank is owned by Meta Financial Group, Inc, a bank holding company.
The origins of MetaBank can be traced all the way back to 1954 when it was originally founded by Stanley H. Haahr. MetaBank was then called Storm Lake Savings and Loan Association. Mr. Haahr remained on as the board chairman until 1990.
The company went on to grow and collect acquisitions, until finally, in 2005, the company changed its name to MetaBank.
Since then, MetaBank has gone on from strength to strength, becoming a popular and well-known banking service. MetaBank now offers a huge variety of loans, prepaid cards, and banking accounts.
While MetaBank is known for offering prepaid cards and no credit (making it a good choice for users with little or no credit), overdrafts, business loans, and agricultural loans are widely available, as are more standard banking accounts in the form of ACE Flare Accounts.
MetaBank Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re thinking about switching to a different bank, you probably have a lot of questions. So, let’s discuss a few frequently asked questions about MetaBank that you might have wondered yourself.
- Who owns MetaBank?
MetaBank is owned by Meta Financial Inc, a bank holding company. The headquarters of MetaBank Corporate Services and Meta Payment Systems are found in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- Is MetaBank better or worse than a traditional bank?
MetaBank can offer most traditional banking services. It’s designed to cater to individuals, businesses, and agricultural purposes. Loans are available, as well as prepaid cards, more traditional banking accounts, as well as overdrafts, savings accounts, and competitive interest rates.
Since MetaBank is considered a fairly good bank, this makes it just as reliable a choice as any more “traditional” banking options.
- Is MetaBank a good bank?
MetaBank is a well-known and reasonably well-reviewed financial service. It’s logical to expect some shortcomings from any bank, and how well your bank can meet your needs. MetaBank has a SmartAsset rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars.
As you can imagine, this is a very good sign!. While you still need to make sure that MetaBank can offer the services you need, a solid SmartAsset rating can give prospective users confidence that MetaBank can provide a reliable and useful banking service.
- Is MetaBank a prepaid bank?
MetaBank does specialize in prepaid cards and gift cards. This means that you’ll pay for a card ahead of time, either to use yourself or to give as a gift. Once your card runs out of money, you won’t be able to spend any more. However, some prepaid cards are reloadable, meaning that you can put more money on your card.
MetaBank offers more than just prepaid cards. They offer traditional banking accounts with direct deposit and classic wire transfer options, as well as savings accounts and all the usual features and benefits of a standard banking account.
The Bottom Line
So, is MetaBank a banking service that you should seriously consider? In short, yes. The Haahr family name is a regular occurrence in the history of the bank, spanning from 1954 until now. There is very little that a standard bank account can give you that MetaBank can’t.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t think carefully about a move from your existing bank to MetaBank. For example, MetaBank requires monthly maintenance fees on some accounts that many banks don’t. You might also encounter inactivity fees or other charges on prepaid gift cards.
The point is, you should carefully research MetaBank before you take out an account (or a prepaid card) with them. However, their prepaid cards are an especially good choice for traveling, agriculture, auto payments, business loans, and regular, everyday use.