American Riviera Bank Santa Barbara Branch

"This bank stole 500 from me after being a customer for over 11 years. Then they avoided answering my calls after meeting with me. Anyone who would trust them with their money needs to be aware that they are not trustworthy. They aren't worth even one star."

"Why aren’t CD rates listed on the website? I don’t want talk to someone. I just want to see what’s available. I don’t need a hard sell on CDs from a “consultant.” Contemplating moving my money to another bank that is easier to deal with."

"Only getting a one-star because I can't give it zero stars. The worst bank ever. They love to offer a boat load of inconsistencies along with some of the most untrained phone reps I have ever seen, and trust me, I have seen some bad ones. Last year, their phone reps hung up on me, lied to me, declined to check on what I was asking about and instead just flat out said no, when I was calling to make a transaction, after having been there for several years. This happened so many times that the lady in charge offered to buy me a gift card for the trouble, which I declined. Today, one of their phone reps, or tellers, or whoever she was, left me a message early in the day and decided NOT to tell me the call was regarding an urgent matter and ALSO did NOT tell me I needed to call her back by a certain time. I only found that out later in the day when I did finally have the chance to call them back. Absolutely unacceptable protocol when you are dealing with people's money. And on that note, this is exactly why I don't let them deal with my money very often any more. That's just in the last year. Don't get me started on what happened pre-pandemic."

"This bank is just fine if you live in the US, and in particular in Santa Barbara. Once you move abroad, they are incapable of dealing with it. Just heard that they closed my account a month ago because I had moved overseas, and informed me by letter to the address I had left, despite having my email and phone number, which they didn’t even try to contact about the closure of the account. American provincialism at its best."

"A fantastic local bank in Santa Barbara. Friendly and fast service, both in person and over the phone. They support and donate to great non-profits in town. They also reimburse most ATM fees! My friend and I joined when we broke up with Wells Fargo. Bank local and don't support big banks that invest your money in projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline! My only regret is not joining as soon as I moved to town."