Today’s large field of commission-free online investing platforms are all missing one thing: a physical, brick and mortar branch you can walk into and make transactions in person.
Slashing overhead costs are one way these apps are able to operate with a leaner overhead budget, which means you will pay less for your trading activity.
However, on the downside, because there isn’t a place like a traditional bank to go into, your transactions will be electronic, and that may take some getting used to.
But investing platforms do use every method of communicating with clients, including by phone, text, email and regular US mail.
Robinhood is required to notify customers with important account information and documents. These include updates whenever your monthly account statement is ready to view. Also, they want to make sure that you’re up to speed with the latest account information, like portfolio value changes and dividend payments.
This information will be posted in your account summary, and will also be emailed to you. You can also get paper statements that will be sent via US mail.
It’s vital to always make sure to keep your contact email info updated, otherwise you may run into delays or worse, restrictions on your account.
If you forget to update your mailing address and a piece of mail gets returned, Robinhood can temporarily restrict your account until they have the accurate address on file.
Also, if Robinhood’s clearing partner isn’t able to deliver emails to the email address you’ve provided, you’ll receive a notification requesting that you update your email address on file. Make sure that you allow emails from Robinhood and ProxyVote (or Mediant) to reach your inbox rather than going to spam. According to Robinhood, prolonged issues with your email address could result in temporary restrictions placed on your account until Robinhood can confirm your correct email address.
You can change your email on Robinhood as long as you have access to the phone number associated with your account.
You can change your phone number on Robinhood directly from the app. You can also go to “Contact Us,” then choose "I have a different question" > Account > Update your info > Phone Number to change it.
When you change your phone number in order to log in, you will be asked to verify your identity to ensure your account's security. This may include providing your email and US mailing address.
The primary reason Robinhood collects these details is for security purposes. You will need to keep all your information updated so your identity is verifiable.
For your Robinhood account, you will be asked to provide your phone number, email and US mailing address. These items of information must always be the most current.
While you can’t unsubscribe from Robinhood account statement emails and mailings to your physical address, keep in mind that you can still unsubscribe from other email communications.
Like most companies today, Robinhood will share your data with some third parties to advertise and display Robinhood services to you across other websites. You can find out exactly how they use your personal information by reading their privacy notice.
You do have the choice to manage certain data sharing preferences. By disabling data sharing, Robinhood will no longer share personal information with marketing partners for the purposes mentioned above.
To change this setting in the app:
Back in the day, banks and other financial institutions needed your contact information, including physical address, phone number and email address to reach out to you with account details.
Today’s online investing platforms need all the same details. The most significant reason they need this info is to verify your identity.
If you change your phone number, email or address and don’t notify Robinhood, it could result in delays or even restrictions on your investing account.
