Climatefirstbank Reviews 3

the application process is surprisingly unnecessarily complicated. Requiring a "live ID" capture just to verify a driver's license for a CD is a major hurdle that feels unnecessary in 2026. I’ve opened accounts at Marcus by Goldman Sachs in a fraction of the time without being forced through these types of hoops. While I appreciate the bank's values, the user experience needs to be much more seamless to compete with larger institutions. Banking should be getting easier, not more complicated—I’ll be taking my deposits elsewhere until the onboarding process is modernized.

To the Climate First team: Please consider streamlining your verification process and removing the Live ID requirement. You are losing customers at the finish line because your onboarding tech is a burden. Banking should be getting easier, not more complicated—I’ll be taking my deposits elsewhere until the process is modernized.

HORRIBLE experiences with this outfit.
Customer service is absurd - nice folks, for a while..., but nothing gets done without employee involvement, and even with their involvement the "system" is such a non-organized mess.
Good luck actually getting accounts opened (DO plan to go to the branch - you'll wind up there eventually in any case...), good luck being able to see them online, and be prepared to wait (actively & deliberately ignored), weeks for the ability ro actually move money into or out of your accounts.
Business accounts are a WHOLE 'NUTHER LEVEL of frustrating... Just stay away.

I had trouble with ID verification, so I wrote customer service for advice. The response I received was shockingly bad from a security perspective and made me glad to discover before I trusted them with my money. They asked me to log in to my bank account on another person's device! Here is the exact email:
"
Do you have a family member or neighbor with a smartphone or camera access on their computer? The only other way to open an account would be in a branch.

Nick Bohannan
Sr Digital Banker
727-353-3035
"