Bank of Internet USA has launched another "cyberbranch" to attract more customers to its online-only bank, this time targeting recreational vehicle owners.
Last week the San Diego bank established myrvbank.com, a Web site that RV owners can use to bank online. The site also has a blog for posting traveling tips, as well as links to campingworld.com, roadtripamerica.com, and other sites. It is maintained by Tim McWhorter, a paid consultant who is traveling the country in an RV with his wife and four kids for a year, while posting his experiences - including his use of Bank of Internet - on myrvbank.com and other sites.
"One of the best things for me is that we don't have to pay ATM fees - it's ridiculous how much they can add up every month," Mr. McWhorter said in an interview, after hiking with his family in Wyoming's Grand Tetons.
Anyone who opens an account through myrvbank.com is entitled to a monthly rebate of up to $10 to cover other banks' surcharges for using their automated teller machines. Other than that, the products and services offered on myrvbank.com are the same as those offered through the bank's main site, bofi.com, including free online bill payment and online access to statements and checks.
"We think of this as another branch of our bank in cyberspace," said Gary Lewis Evans, the chief executive of the bank and its parent, the $738 million-asset B of I Holding Inc. "We did this to reach more RVers, a very viable and growing market that fits within our demographics."
The number of U.S. households that owned at least one RV has climbed 15% since 2001 and 58% since 1980, to nearly 8 million last year, according to a University of Michigan study commissioned by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.
Bank of Internet has launched or is developing several specially labeled Web sites to attract more customers. In January it launched seniorbofi.com to attract seniors, and it has Web sites for apartment building owners and apartment brokers. (The bulk of Bank of Internet's loans are made to owners of apartment buildings.)
Mr. Evans said he is also considering launching bancodeinternet.com, a Spanish-language site for the Hispanic market.
The annual cost of developing and maintaining myrvbank.com is less than $100,000, so the number of RVers needed to make the site profitable is minimal, he said.
Chris Musto, an analyst with Keynote WebExcellence, a division of Keynote Systems Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., said Bank of Internet appears to have a decent niche marketing strategy.
"Essentially, they're selling the same products and services, but they're making a very good case for why RVers should be interested in the products and services of an Internet-centered bank like theirs," Mr. Musto said.
The blog could be appealing to RVers looking for banking tips, but only if it is not seen as just a promotion of products day after day, he said.
According to Mr. Evans, the bank will put $10 in the checking account of customers who submit comments or photos that are posted on myrvbank.com's blog.
In addition to posting comments about Bank of Internet on the blogs of other RV sites, Mr. WcWhorter said, he may also advertise on such sites. He is also spreading the word about the bank at RV campgrounds during his travels.
Jaimie Hall, a columnist for roadtripamerica.com, said readers should be receptive to Mr. McWhorter's comments provided they contain "real solid information to make banking easier for RVers" and "aren't blatantly commercial."
But Mr. McWhorter may fare even better if columnists on the sites write about him instead, because RVers already look to them for advice, Ms. Hall said. She is considering writing an article about myrvbank.com for her site.
The $1 billion-asset Affinity Bank in Ventura, Calif., used to offer what it called "on-the-road" banking services for RVers. It was bought in 1995 by Affinity Group, which also owns the Good Sam Club, an information and promotion club for RVers. Sue Bray, executive director of the club, said Affinity Bank no longer offers specific services for RVers, but the club continues to promote the bank's online services, because of the affiliation.
The club may also mention myrvbank.com in the future, "because RVers are always looking for information that could help make their lifestyle more enjoyable, and a site like that would probably do that," she said.
