Join Early Retirement Today
View Poll Results: Do you still use a local brick-n-mortar bank?
I’ve already quit using brick-n-mortar banks. 54 24.32%
I am considering dropping our brick-n-mortar bank. 19 8.56%
I am not interested in ending my brick-n-mortar bank relationship. 149 67.12%
Voters: 222. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-19-2019, 03:12 PM   #41
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
athena53's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,326
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarieIG View Post

Being able to deal with a person when addressing an issue.
I was a bit disappointed with B of A in that regard after DH died. He had a checking account there with about $250 in it. They must have tapped into the SS death database because without my doing anything, they initiated contact. That was the good part- but the people in the branch office weren't able to tell me much. I filled out the papers they sent, brought them in, they sent them somewhere, I filled out a second round of papers, brought them in, and I got a check. No one could answer my questions (can't remember what they were- nothing urgent). It was clear that the expertise was in some unreachable place and the people working in the branch were all a lower pay grade.

Also- before DH died, when we needed something notarized, we stopped in and the notary was on vacation that week. Okay. Stopped by 2 weeks later- she was out for the day. At any given time there were at least a half dozen employees at work- but they could afford to fund the licencing of only one notary. We went to the USPS store and paid $3 instead.
athena53 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-19-2019, 03:12 PM   #42
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Lakewood90712's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,223
Use several banks /CU's some online, some not. Always looking for rate deals.

Ever need a Treasury Medallion signature guarantee ? I have, twice, dealing with an elders estate. Can't do that except in person.
Lakewood90712 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:13 PM   #43
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Chicago West Burbs
Posts: 2,998
If a person has a hobby that has a sale or purchase transaction of $3-$10k cash (not checks) like buying or selling a used car, how do people with no B&M bank make that deposit or withdrawal in cash? ATM's have limits right?

This is the biggest holdback of mine to making the switch to on-line.
CRLLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:15 PM   #44
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
GalaxyBoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: The Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
Posts: 2,781
I voted "I’ve already quit using brick-n-mortar banks" but truth be told we still have a small account at a local credit union. DW insists on having some emergency money nearby in case of nuclear attack or whatever, but frankly I don't see that would make any difference.

We use the CC as much as possible for cash back and automatic entry of purchases into Quicken. Schwab waives fees on all ATMs, so there's no reason to use the local brick-n-mortar.
GalaxyBoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:18 PM   #45
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
GalaxyBoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: The Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
Posts: 2,781
And to add to the above, when DF died I opened an account for the estate at the same local bank he used. Their rates were terrible on savings so I transferred most of the money to an account at Ally to earn decent interest. When there was an issue at the local bank, the kid I had to talk to at the branch was so inept I felt like throttling him.
GalaxyBoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Poll: Ready to drop brick-n-mortar banking?
Old 01-19-2019, 03:24 PM   #46
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
steelyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC Triangle
Posts: 5,807
Poll: Ready to drop brick-n-mortar banking?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanstar View Post
Like an earlier post, we use USAA online and have for 40+ years. I did open a checking at the local brick and mortar so I can take my collection of change, dump it in the coin sorter, deposit it and on occasion use it via debit card to keep it current. Just don’t want to spend time rolling coins, donating them or paying 10% for the auto sorter. I can also use it to cash a large USAA check if needed but haven’t done so yet.

I forgot about the free coin machines, they’re nice to have access to in a setting that’s financially-oriented (vs a wide-open grocery store, etc).
__________________

steelyman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:34 PM   #47
Moderator
Jerry1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 9,101
Quote:
Originally Posted by steelyman View Post
I forgot about the free coin machines, they’re nice to have access to in a setting that’s financially-oriented (vs a wide-open grocery store, etc).
I’ve looked, searched on line but have never found a bank or credit union with a coin counter. Thankfully, there’s a coin star machine that will trade coins for an Amazon gift card without taking a percentage.

As for those of you who want $100 bills, ever go into a casino? My gambling fund is denominated in c-notes.
__________________
Every day when I open my eyes now it feels like a Saturday - David Gray
Jerry1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:37 PM   #48
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Huston55's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: The Bay Area
Posts: 2,736
Haven’t had a B&M bank in over a decade, back when we had a safe deposit box. We now have a home safe but, I’d still like a safe deposit box; however, not joining a bank just for that. All of the other services listed above we either don’t need or can get elsewhere. We use Fido banking and, if I want to talk to “people”, I can visit a branch.
__________________
You may be whatever you resolve to be.
100% x 10% > 10% x 100%
Small pensions & SS cover essentials
Huston55 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 03:51 PM   #49
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
HI Bill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 2,534
Wow, guess at 53, I’m really old-fashioned for still having a B&M bank. We keep data archives in the safe deposit box (in case the House ever burns down, we don’t lose 10TB of data). For the honeymoon, I had to use them to wire $ overseas. I received a free estate checking account this year. Use them for mostly minor transactions, now. Could get by with online, but some actions would be more difficult.
__________________
Balance in everything.
HI Bill is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 04:06 PM   #50
Gone but not forgotten
imoldernu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peru
Posts: 6,335
Where would we get our annual calendar?
__________________
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
--Dalai Lama XIV
imoldernu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 04:12 PM   #51
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Beaverton
Posts: 1,382
Sorry, not going strictly online. We’re not that predictable
__________________
Jump in, the water's warm.
Bir48die is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 04:41 PM   #52
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 3,431
B&M are good for things that are more the exception than the rule, such as:

1) Medallions

2) Foreign funds - getting, exchanging, and for crisp US currency for travel to 3rd world countries (where worn/beat-up currency is rejected).

3) When acting as Power of Attorney on older relative's account in a foreign country. (Also, when placing their funds in higher-interest-paying certificates, etc.)

4) Holding a mortgage (at 2.89%), I was able to walk into my B&M bank late in Dec. 2017 and speak to a human to avail myself of last-minute tax-saving strategies as a result of the new 2018 Tax Bill.

5) In a foreign country where ATMs with English text are not available

6) In a foreign country where English is rarely spoken. Gestures, body language, and cash communicated to the teller what we wanted.

omni
omni550 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 05:02 PM   #53
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Car-Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRLLS View Post
If a person has a hobby that has a sale or purchase transaction of $3-$10k cash (not checks) like buying or selling a used car, how do people with no B&M bank make that deposit or withdrawal in cash? ATM's have limits right?

This is the biggest holdback of mine to making the switch to on-line.
Bingo, that's the main reason why I have never considered switching to all on-line banking. A couple of my hobbies often involve large cash transactions and I'm not keeping that kind of cash around in an old shoe box. Last year I'll bet my bank filled out at least ~20 CTR's on me. That along with needing a SDB and frequent notary services and I'm sticking with B&M banking.
Car-Guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 05:34 PM   #54
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Colorado
Posts: 8,971
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRLLS View Post
If a person has a hobby that has a sale or purchase transaction of $3-$10k cash (not checks) like buying or selling a used car, how do people with no B&M bank make that deposit or withdrawal in cash? ATM's have limits right?

This is the biggest holdback of mine to making the switch to on-line.
You give the cash to someone who will write you a check. You then use the auto deposit app and put the check in your account.
COcheesehead is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2019, 06:40 PM   #55
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,266
I voted for "I’ve already quit using brick-n-mortar banks." even though it isn't totally true. When we moved into our retirement home in 2011 it was 25 miles from our main home and the bricks-and-motar credit union that we have dealt with for over 30 years. While we have kept our money at that CU (it merged with another CU a few years ago)... I rarely step foot in it and don't really "need" to.

I guess that at most I spend 10 minutes a year in a brick-and-motar bank and I could easily not... sometime is it just more convenient if my travels happen to take me by it.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2019, 12:32 AM   #56
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 4,661
We went without a physical bank for years, but got one nearby when we opened a HELOC in 2014. The safe deposit box is the most useful service for us. Also as others have mentioned, getting cash in desired denominations is almost impossible without having a bricks and mortar bank.
Scuba is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2019, 06:14 AM   #57
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RunningBum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,202
Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack View Post
And it may seem silly, but it seems unfair to me to use so little of a banks services and not other services. Other patrons are paying for my privileges? YMMV
I don't follow. You rarely or never use bank services, but it's unfair that other patrons are paying for your privileges? I figure that I am keeping a bit of money in my B&M bank account and use just a bit of their services. A fair trade-off for each of us. If you don't find any of the reasons given here compelling to keep your bank account, drop it.

I found sergio's list pretty complete for me, and there were a few other reasons given by others that made sense to me. I used to have problems occasionally with using the phone app to deposit checks, so I still want to have the local bank option for that. And I did get a medallion signature last year. A couple years ago BofA shut down a couple of the locations closest to me, so I switched over to Wells Fargo.
RunningBum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2019, 06:30 AM   #58
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
street's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 9,421
Quote:
Originally Posted by sergio View Post
Why I keep $3k in a checking account at a local brick and mortar bank:

1. Can deposit cash

2. Can withdraw large amounts of cash ASAP (never needed this, but just in case)

3. Ability to withdraw $100 bills (for wedding gifts) or rolls of quarters (super useful when I lived in apartment and paid for laundry).

4. Can get a cashier's check or certified check ASAP

5. Notary services

6. Safety deposit box

The VAST majority of my cash is held at Ally. I just don't see the harm in keep a minimal connection with a brick and mortar bank.
For all the reasons above and more for me. Direct payments for billing, is nice to be able to talk to someone in person of an issue and question, and if I ever need a loan they know me. It doesn't cost me one penny for all the services with my bank so it works for me. It is another financial tool that works for some but not for all.
street is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2019, 07:07 AM   #59
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,639
In the last 2 years we've used our regional B&M Bank for the following:

Safe Deposit Box

Medallion Sig

Notary

Witnesses (for a POA)

Larger cash withdrawals (and deposits)

Coin Deposits (ours has a self serve machine)

Billpay

That's all I can think of. We probably go 3 or 4 times a year for something. Everything is free. They still make a few bucks off of interest on our small amount in checking.

The majority of our cash is in a Vanguard Checking account (Prime Money Market). When I need more cash in B&M, I just write a check to myself and do a mobile deposit. Available almost immediately - always same day.

I can't think of a reason to get rid of our B&M account (other than about $40 of interest). The free safe deposit box is worth more than that (to me anyway).
PatrickA5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2019, 07:08 AM   #60
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,008
One simple reason - my safe deposit boxes. Very necessary.

I’ve maintained my long-term relationship with a large national bank because I use their safe deposit boxes plus they are my main checking/bill pay. Their online site is excellent and they also have a couple of excellent credit cards I use. But all my savings and investments are in other online financial institutions.

I have relationships with two brick and mortar banks, three online banks, three online-for-me credit unions, and two (online for me) brokerages both of which offer me a checking type account with no-fee ATM access worldwide and billpay.

At some point I will probably drop down to one of each but no credit unions. I’ll have to see if I still need a safe deposit box or how to deal with that.

BTW - you don’t need a brick and mortar bank for checks. All online banks that offer checking will allow you to order checks, and most of them send them anyway when you open an account.

I rarely use an ATM unless traveling overseas, and even though we have ATM cards that reimburse all fees, when home I prefer to go to the local branch and withdraw money with no fees instead of incurring the typical 3% ATM fees which always seem outrageous to me even though I would be reimbursed.

We move enough money through our no interest/no fee main checking account that I’m sure the bank is doing fine on us plus we pay pretty good fees on our large safe deposit boxes. If they offered decent savings rates I would keep more money there. Somehow I don’t believe they lack in deposits because like most large national banks they are very miserly in terms of savings and CD rates.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Investing Online Bank vs Brick N Mortar Midpack FIRE and Money 5 11-03-2017 12:25 PM
Will Brick and Mortar Stores Die Out? Amethyst Other topics 87 01-17-2016 04:10 AM
Financial planners: bricks&mortar versus online Nords FIRE and Money 7 12-29-2012 08:32 PM
The yellow brick road... mangodance Young Dreamers 3 09-22-2006 08:15 PM
On line degrees from Brick and Morter schools laurence Young Dreamers 20 06-11-2006 09:54 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:27 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.