An earlier review said this is a credit union. It's definitely a private, for-profit bank -- see http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?FEIN=000629989 That doesn't mean it's a bad bank -- it sounds great for what it is -- but it's not a non-profit, member-owned credit union. Update: I spoke with a bank manager, Donna Lee, who says that while CSB is a for-profit company, they're also a mutual bank. So they don't have shareholders trying to earn a profit; instead they're run by a board of trustees, and the profits go back into running the bank. So in practice it's maybe not so different from a credit union.

I kid you not. My main bank is KeyBank, but they don't have a damn branch in the Boston area (!!), so I had to find a new bank when I moved here. After narrowing it down to CSB and TD, I picked CSB and couldn't be happier with my choice. Customer service at all branches is friendly and human, which is more than most other banks can say. I had a little hiccup getting the PIN on my debit card to work at first, but the good people of CSBs Porter and Harvard helped me out in no time-- one person actually called my cell phone AFTER normal business hours to tell me my card was up and functioning! One superior aspect of this bank is the no-strings-attached checking account, which is what I have but haven't seen much written about here. It's one of the few totally free checking accounts out there with NO monthly maintenance fees and NO minimum balance requirements. This was a godsend to me when I moved to Boston without a job for a few months-- keeping a balance of such-and-such or depositing a certain amount per month were not necessarily options for me. This particular account does not bear interest, nor does it refund ATM surcharges from other banks, but that's fine with me and I live across the street from a CSB ATM, anyway! One downfall of this bank, if you're used to the ubiquitous BofA, TD, or Citizens, is that it has a limited number of branches/ATMs. Most notably, there are NONE within Boston city limits. However, if you live along the Red Line or in the metro west area (Arlington, Lexington, Newton, Watertown, Belmont, Lexington, Concord), you're golden.

With csb for years without a hitch but for some reason their authentification system has just stopped working--for days now-- and now there is no way to access online, and NO ONE CAN HELP. My child is now out of state and I have no way to get money to them because of this. emails sent to my email to invite me to be joint on the account are not received and the bank claims this is my gmail issue--if so why doesn't their text go thru either? They need to spend more on softwear that actually works. Looking for another bank

The credited me the money back and we parted ways. I realize the bank was also a victim of the fraud as well. Not the problem. Great people at the branch.

Over ten years later I still do my banking at this branch. Although I don't know much of the faces anymore this is a solid branch. They also have a coin counting machine so no need to have to separate coins and put them in the rolls anymore. For customers there is no fee to do this, however for mom customers there is a small 5% processing fee. But for the convenience it is worth it!

I only come in to grab quarters for laundry (not a member) but the tellers are always friendly and polite and greet you as you walk in. Most recently I was helped by Josiane who was super nice. The location is well staffed/I've never had to wait. Can't confirm it's a good place to bank but the employees seem great.

On a Saturday morning to open all new accounts after closing out all the ones we had with Bank of America. We opened 6 new accounts and could not have imagined a better experience. The associate that helped us was patient, detail oriented, and was able to answer all of our questions. She talked us through all of our options and what account types would be best for us. She was informative, super helpful, and more pleasant than anyone I've ever encountered at BoA. We were there for over and hour but the whole experience was great. I made two follow up calls the Monday morning after for some additional questions I had and there were answered expertly and politely. You can't put a price on customer service like this. Also, I just wanted to mention their online banking system Web Bank. It's hard to get used to a new system after having BoA accounts for so long but the interface is simple and straightforward so I think in time I will have no issues with it. Long story short - bank locally. It's good for your community, keeps your cash circulating in your town, the customer service doesn't even compare to that of a Big Bank, and it makes you feel good.

1) It's a local credit union, not a large multinational corporation that was recently involved in the near-collapse of the world economy 2) All my friends with other banks get longing looks on their faces when I tell them about my checking account that pays a higher interest rate than their savings accounts AND reimburses ATM fees from other banks' ATMs. 3) Their customer service is exceptional. I've had a few strange requests over the years, and I've always been able to get in touch with someone who speaks American English and handles it without getting fazed. 4) The branch manager juggles burning knives while riding on the back of a tiger. ...not really, but it's still an awesome bank.

A little over 3 weeks ago, and so far, I couldn't be happier! I used to do deals with the devil (Bank of America), but finally smartened up and found a bank more suited for the everyday people. The great thing about Cambridge Savings is that you can use your debit card at ANY atm, and they will reimburse you the fees you were charged at the end of the month. Sweet deal, right? They also have convenient locations for a red line gal such as myself in Porter, Harvard, Central, and Inman to name a few. The customer service is great too. In order to get my direct deposit switched, my company needed a letter signed from a representative at the bank with all of my account info. Kind of ridiculous. But I called up CSB and explained the situation, and had a letter waiting for me via email by the end of the day.

Where they all know my name! Totally professional staff, accurate, polite, friendly. The bank promotes many employees from within! Their fees are in line! No gouging ! I have had accounts here since 1978. They will always be my bank!

We had a small local bank in our town, one of the girls at my school worked there as a teller and everything was nice and proper and local about the branch. They had nice friendly staff and a good location, I ended up opening my account at the Fleet bank behind my house and through multiple iterations and some issues I got passed around a bit. I happened to need a new account and as I was tired of trying to work around account restrictions I figured I'd open a business checking account at Cambridge Savings Bank, they don't have ideal hours but the location works for me and after a long wait on a Saturday morning but this buildup is for one very important reason. My rep did the very best to set up my account in the best way possible without any prompting from me. I just got an honest hand written card in the mail from them. I wouldn't recommend closing all your accounts and switching but you should make the first step by opening a new account today.

Recently transferred our accounts from the evil BoA to Cambridge Savings. What a pleasant experience! We opened our accounts online, but then realized we needed ATM cards and couldn't wait around for them to be mailed. We stopped by the branch and were helped immediately by a very friendly woman who whipped us up some cards on the spot, then spent time to make sure we were comfortable with our new accounts, didn't have any questions, etc. A couple of days later, a handwritten thank you card arrived from the bank manager. WOW. Besides the great personalized service, the other good things about this bank include the higher-than-average interest rates for checking accounts, lack of fees in general, and refunds for fees for using other banks' ATMs. Stellar.