It’s ok. I Do get my social security payments early, which I really like. But their “Fraud Shield” alerts are really irritating. It seems EVERY transaction gets flagged. Frustrating. Anyway.

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Review summary
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Company details
- #18 of 30 best companies in Bank
- #74 of 110 best companies in Financial Institution
- #200 of 254 best companies in Non-Bank Financial Service
Written by the company
Charlie is a banking solution designed for people 62 and older and receiving Social Security benefits. Charlie gives you more for your money, fraud protection to keep it safe, and delivers it with an experience that’s relatable and respectful.
Contact info
United States
- charlie.com
Replied to 86% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
Did not get a new card
Did not get a new card. Cannot get to my money. Cannot get through to the customer service. Worked fine until my card expired. Cannot wait to close my account Ava get my money out. No branch, no supervisor to help. On hold long after they said the wait was only 2 minutes. I'm up to 15 minutes. So frustrating.
DoNT!!!!They ruined my life
DoNT!!!!They ruined my life! Look up BBB reviews!! Thieves, liars and prey on elderly!
Not only have they quit the service of…
Not only have they quit the service of crediting your account on the 1st of the month, they are actually withholding my payment now. SSA tells me on my account page when payment has been made. This month was on the 3rd. Yet Charlie says it isn't expected until the 5th. I've emailed support about this on more then one occasion and have yet to receive any response. I'm about to go to Sutton, maybe they can give me an answer. At this time I can think of no reason whatsoever to keep doing business with them.
my financial means
what makes you better than the others is that I can get in touch with you and you staff without any issues.
They Refuse to Delete Your Information Even Though You Are NOT THEIR CUSTOMER
This is a financial services company incorporated in Delaware. It is not a bank, & it violates the DTPA. This is a WARNING to anyone who may be considering opening an account with them.
An old friend recommended Charlie for seniors 62+. No fees, & you receive SS 3-4 days earlier than you otherwise would. Sounded good. The site said all it needed was my legal name, SSN, address, telephone number, an email address, etc. I provided all of this information. They sent codes to my phone & to my email. I parroted back the codes. I did not know it then, but IT WAS ALREADY TOO LATE FOR ME. It would be too late for you, too.
Then they asked me to call them. I called them & asked, "what do you want?" I could not get an answer. This literally went on for 30 minutes. I kept saying, I gave you all the information you wanted to open an account. You then asked me to call you, so I am calling you. WHAT DO YOU WANT??? I was speaking to a woman in the Philippines. There would be LONG, LONG, LONG pauses between what I said & her response which was hardly anything. I believe they were getting as much of my voice on recording as possible---30 minutes worth of my voice.
Finally, I was asked to email them a photo of a bill sent to me at my address. I FOOLISHLY did so. Still not enough. Next, they demanded I send them photos of my license front & back AND a "selfie" holding my driver's license. I said ENOUGH!!!! I have never taken a "selfie" in my life, & I am not going to do it now. I gave you all the information you said you needed to open my account; then you asked for a lot more. THAT IS DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE. If I had known that you were going to demand all of this other stuff, I NEVER WOULD HAVE BEGUN THE APPLICATION. They are harvesting & storing your personally identifiable information including a long record of your voice.
They refused to open the account & they refused to delete my information. They said the are obliged to keep my info for 5 years, but they will keep it longer than that. I am NOT their customer. They have no need to keep my name, address, phone number, email address, SSN, DoB, etc. This is dishonest and a violation of my privacy.
I have filed complaints against them with the BBB & the attorney general's office in both California & my state. I am looking into what other agencies may oversee them. If they were a bank, then the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would oversee them, but they are not a bank.
I am going to have to file a lawsuit against them just to get them to delete my private information. In this day & age of identity theft, hacked computers, etc., the fewer the companies that have your information, the better.
If you have not yet started an application with them, please BE AWARE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU. Not only will they take your name, address, phone number, SSN, DoB, & email address as they claim at the start, but then they will tell you that is not enough and demand FAR, FAR more information.
Just with the initial information, you will have provided enough information for them to steal your identity. If you give them all the rest of what they want, you are even worse off. Not even the FBI or any other law enforcement agency has a right to demand this information from you. Not even SS demands a "selfie" with your driver's license & copies of your utility bills, passport, etc.
PLEASE DO NOT BE A FOOL LIKE I WAS. Brick & mortar banks are a misery to deal with anymore, but no brick & mortar bank is going to ask you to give them the stuff that Charlie demands.
Now, they have personally identifiable information on me & they refuse to delete it. If that sounds scary to you, then I urge you to protect yourself & your information & DO NOT START AN APPLICATION WITH CHARLIE. Warn your family, friends, & co-workers if you still work. They are compiling ALL of your personal information, even LONG, LONG recordings of your voice. These people are BAD. I would not refer an enemy to them much less a friend.
I since discovered SS will send your benefit directly to U.S. Direct Express debit card each month. Google them. You do NOT need a bank account to get your SS. Pay with this SS approved debit card. Buy money orders with the debit card for payees that need paper. Keep your info out of the hands of lowlife companies like Charlie. Check with SS. They will verify this debit card is a great way to get direct deposit of your SS each month.
ETA: They are still emailing me long after they refused to open an account unless I sent them my license & a "a selfie." I told them I would NEVER do business with with them & to get stuffed. Yet, they are still harassing me with emails.
Resubmitting My Post
It started back in early October when I discovered my inability to transfer my money from my Charlie account to another bank to pay my monthly bills I needed to go to an ATM. I am a 70 year old senior veteran who lives on a fixed income where a $100.00 loss could mean loss of groceries for part of the month. When I was shorted $100.00 at a Charlie assigned ATM. At that time I wrote a negative 2 star review that caught the attention of the Charlie team. After speaking to a representative of the bank I agreed to remove my review. Since they seemed to be genuinely willing to help me in these two matters. They issued a $100.00 reimbursement for my loss at their assigned ATM and a commitment to rectify my inability to transfer my money. Now in November I now have the able to transfer my money,however they took back the $100.00 from my account with no exclamation as to why. I was actually shorted $100.00 at assigned ATM.
Kathlene T, has worked diligently to help me and solve these issues. I am now able to transfer money to different accounts. THANKS KATHLENE

Reply from Charlie
Great job...
Charlie is good but I'm having issues…
Charlie is good but I'm having issues withdrawing to other bank which is still mine
I did link my bank it didn't go through, I did with debit card same thing please I need help on how to withdraw to another external account

Reply from Charlie
Really Is What It Says It Is!
The ONLY downside I feel with Charlie is the wait time for customer service. I have begun to keep my place in line and have them call me back and that is working better. Frankly, I don't think there are many operations like Charlie that run any faster. I do think that they need more phones or people or both...something... so that they are not losing customers due to that problem.
The good news is that the charges are minimal. I came to Charlie through Social Security because I have my retirement funds direct-deposited into Charlie. This is how they began and I came from a credit union that was taking hundreds of dollars because my funds would hit on different days.
Very pleasant Lady that I talked …
Very pleasant Lady that I talked with. She was so polite and knowledgeable.
The person I spoke to had such a heavy…
The person I spoke to had such a heavy accent that I had to ask her to repeat herself several times. She also continuously disregarded what I said and suggested something else that couldn't have been the answer. As a result of this I'm going to assume you now outsource your jobs, which is really, really, really disappointing.
HOWEVER, this is ONLY regarding this recent phone call. In general I love Charlie and they get beyond 5 stars.

Reply from Charlie
Good security
Charlie provides me with a great sense…
Charlie provides me with a great sense of security. The only thing keeping me from giving Charlie a five is I don’t like people setting limits on how much money I can have of my own money.

Reply from Charlie
Charlie is great everytime u call they…
Charlie is great everytime u call they take care of u with all they got !! would referr them everyday of the wk , thank you charlie !!
I am well please HAPPY GIRL
I am well please, but I cannot connect accounts with PLAID. Will that be possible in the near future?
anytime i have called for help i…
anytime i have called for help i received immediate response. very satisfied
I have not encountered any real issues…
I have not encountered any real issues with the account. My only complaint is I emailed support two times with a question and never received a response. Poor customer service.

Reply from Charlie
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