 TITLE: Are Online Savings Accounts Safe? CONTENT: Drawbacks of Online Savings Accounts\n------------------------------------\nOnline savings accounts can be attractive to many, but their drawbacks could cause you to look elsewhere for your banking needs:\n1.  You can't get face-to-face customer service at a physical branch.\n2.  When an online bank's system goes down, you won't be able to access your account.\n3.  Online banks normally don't have their own ATMs, although they might provide access to an independent ATM network and reimburse any ATM fees.\n4.  Online banks might not offer certain services, such as mortgage loans, that their traditional bank counterparts do.\n5.  If you want to withdraw cash, you might be hit with a daily withdrawal limit at an ATM. By contrast, a teller at a brick-and-mortar bank branch could hand you more cash with less hassle.\n6.  You typically can't deposit or withdraw cash unless you use an ATM affiliated with the online bank.\n7.  Online banks generally haven't been in business as long as traditional banks have, so customer sentiment may be harder to nail down. END