Poll: Ready to drop brick-n-mortar banking?

[badatmath]

None of you poll options fit my situation.

I will say I never go inside my local B&M bank and I did not expect adding a B&M in another state would annoy me but it does. A true online back has 24 hour customer service and more robust web options and I think it will be a better fit. I had planned to close it tomorrow but darn it holiday so guess not!

 

[Katsmeow]

So -- what is the advantage of an online bank? Is it simply the higher interest rate? If so, I am not sure it is really worth it. I think it would make maybe a $300 difference per year. We don't really keep around all that much cash. Most of our money is tax deferred and I only transfer out money from the IRAs when we need money.

Anyway - during the last year I've used our B&M bank a lot actually. I mean used it a lot by actually going into the bank. Some of the things:

1. Activating my POA on my mom's bank account.
2. Opening an estate account after her death.
3. Deposit checks to the estate account (requires trip to bank).
4. Deposit cash from the estate sale.
5. Deposit coins
6. Have a very nice person at the bank help me when another branch messed up the POD status of my mom's bank account.
7. Multiple times we had documents notarized (could have done those at UPS for $6 each time).
8. We did have a safety deposit box. Don't have one at our new house because none of the branches near us have any boxes. Need to start looking for a branch farther away and get on the local waiting list.
9. Money orders and cashier's checks. Those were free because of the level of account we had. We recently dropped down to a lower level and so those aren't free any more.
10. Oh -- this might be important. I use Zelle to transfer money fairly often. I am not sure if it is available with online banks or not. [I checked -- it is available at Ally]

I don't know. Maybe after my mom's estate is all settled and I don't need to be going into the bank so often, I might do online. Even so, I think I would keep a few thousand dollars in the local B&M bank. But if I could get another $300 or so a year from higher interest rates then it might be worth it.

 

[folivier]

My DW is going through this now. Spent last week trying to get her local bank to accept her POA for her mom. No luck so far. She also found out her bank is trying to push all customers to e-banking. All branches will soon have no tellers but kiosks and 1 person to help customers navigate the kiosks. That works for younger people but for my DW trying to help her mom who has Alzheimers and can't walk it is a big problem.

 

[phil1ben]

We use online banks (TIAA, ALLY and Synchrony) for CDs and Wells Fargo for checking accounts and safe deposit box. Also have CDs at other local brick and mortar banks where they provide competitive interest rates. We have a safe at home but we get greater discounts on insurance when certain items of jewelry are in a safe deposit box. I like the convenience of having a local face to face discussion in the event an issue arises. We are not charged any fees by Wells and the amount of interest we lose from having the checking accounts at Wells is small.

When traveling abroad I normally use our ATM for cash but I like to at least enter the country with $100 in local currency in the event the ATMs at the airport are not operating (it has happened). Wells does this for customers albeit at a bad exchange rate but it is convenient. Having some cash when landing gives me peace of mind just in case.....

 

[scrabbler1]

In the last 12 years, I have used my B&M bank for the following services (beyond ATM):


(1) Medallion signature for a large ACH transfer ($300k).
(2) Cashier's check when I bought a car.
(3) Deposit coins.
(4) Frequent split deposits of a check, getting $10s for part of the cash.
(5) Needed help when starting my online banking.
(6) Opened a new CC (a cashback one).
(7) Increased the limit on said CC.
(8) Cash (teller) withdrawal which included a wide variety of bills ($1s, $5s, and $10s).
(9) Made CC payments for other card holders who used the same bank.
(10) Got answers to some banking questions.


I realize that some of these issues can be resolved without a B&M bank. But some can't. Also, I often have more than one of these things to resolve at the same time, so one trip takes care of everything. My B&M bank is very close to where I live and is on the way to doing other errands, so it isn't a big deal to stop in. I stop by at times when the bank staff easily outnumbers the customers inside. Many of the staff, especially the tellers, recognize me and say hello.

 

[Car-Guy]

Showing my ignorance here..... What is CTR? Google says "click through rate"... but that doesn't make sense.

As you now know, CTR = Cash Transaction Report.... I'm surprised you didn't know that one since it's been discussed/mention on this board in the past a number of times.

NOTE - Having CTR's filled out on you is nothing to get concerned about. I've never had any issues, follow-ups, etc. Banks and casinos fill out tons of them everyday. However, if your bank fills out a SAR on you, that might be a different story. So you don't have to look it up, SAR stands for Suspicious Activity Report. Self explanatory....

Sorry if I confused anyone with some of those banking/financial terms I used in this thread, since those acronyms come up all the time on another forum I frequent. Sometimes I need to think about which forum I'm on.

 

[Car-Guy]

Also SDB? Urban dictionary's answer is probably not what you say you need. LOL. (Warning - link contains potty words.)

I hadn't heard SDB used like that.

 

[Montecfo]

I see a value to keeping B&M bank, at least for some small amount to maintain relationship and access services.

No need to eliminate it, just change how you use it.

We use online for most things as the products are cheaper. we do not need safe deposit box or most other bank services. but we might at some point.

I do sell things for cash at times (such as cars). Convenient to be able to deposit that.

 

[SumDay]

We have a (zero balance) HELOC with our B&M we've been with, longer than our 40 years of marriage. It's part of our investment & asset allocation strategy. In case of a crash, as a very last resort, break glass and use the HELOC.

Just last week I needed a (dreaded) Medallion Signature to rollover my megacorp 401(k) to Vanguard, and I was able to pop in there for one. If I hadn't been a customer, they'd have sent me on my way. We don't keep much in our checking account, but for all the same reasons Sergio indicated above, we'll stay there, probably until we're cremated. That said, 90% of our after-tax cash/emergency $$ is at Ally, with a "connection" to our B&M bank for quick, painless transfers. Ally is also where our annual IRA withdrawals will be deposited.

They know us by name when we walk in. I like that.

 

[sengsational]

For travel I like to get ones. Like a hundred bucks in ones for tips. Easiest way to get this many ones is a brick n mortar

But then you have to carry a separate suitcase! Oh, wait a minute, that's your purse.


To those with the OLBO, I have a suggestion for coin and denomination problems: the grocery store. The self checkout has a coin slot. If you go when the impatient work a days aren't behind you, just start chunking in the coins. Not good for a year's worth, but fine if you keep up with it. If your total is too low, you get back bills. And the other grocery store solution is to use your debit card for cash back to get smaller denominations. I doubt you could get crisp 100's, but a mix of small bills is no problem.

 

[Jerry1]

How do all of you online bankers deal with loose change? Do all ATM's take coins?

We use the coin star machine at the grocery store. Thankfully, they still have some cards that you can redeem without incurring a charge. We usually take our receipt as an Amazon card as we know we will use that. We’ve also taken it as Home Depot.

We used to annually give it to our granddaughter. But she is grown and on her own now. I guess we will just keep putting our change in a 5 gallon jug and leave it for the kids to deal with someday.

I’m grown and on my own, but I don’t think I’d mind getting a bunch of change no and then. Especially if you save it like me. I usually cash in $200+.

 

[Dtail]

I’m grown and on my own, but I don’t think I’d mind getting a bunch of change no and then. Especially if you save it like me. I usually cash in $200+.

Pretty much the same for me.

 

[scrabbler1]

But then you have to carry a separate suitcase! Oh, wait a minute, that's your purse.


To those with the OLBO, I have a suggestion for coin and denomination problems: the grocery store. The self checkout has a coin slot. If you go when the impatient work a days aren't behind you, just start chunking in the coins. Not good for a year's worth, but fine if you keep up with it. If your total is too low, you get back bills. And the other grocery store solution is to use your debit card for cash back to get smaller denominations. I doubt you could get crisp 100's, but a mix of small bills is no problem.

I have used the self-checkout to rid myself of dimes, nickels, and pennies. (Quarters are useful coins to keep.) Because I don't wait for those coins to build up to humongous levels, even just $2 or $3 of them is plenty. When I gathered up the coins my dad piled up at his house, I put them into rolls to take to my bank. He had $18 in just those 3 coins in 2017, from years of collecting. A few months ago, he had collected about $8 since 2017, too much to haul around and dump into a self-checkout IMHO.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have used the self-checkout to rid myself of dimes, nickels, and pennies. (Quarters are useful coins to keep.) Because I don't wait for those coins to build up to humongous levels, even just $2 or $3 of them is plenty. When I gathered up the coins my dad piled up at his house, I put them into rolls to take to my bank. He had $18 in just those 3 coins in 2017, from years of collecting. A few months ago, he had collected about $8 since 2017, too much to haul around and dump into a self-checkout IMHO.

I do the same thing. The other day I used the self checkout to buy the grandkid a treat. Don't tell her parents.

 

[ncbill]

I'll always have a local bank/credit union where I can see real people.

Just last week I had to go into one to open new accounts for my relative's trust (revocable converted to irrevocable on death, so new tax ID...though I got that online from the IRS)

 

[bada bing]

Nothing posted so far points to any real value to giving up completely a relationship with a B and M bank or Credit Union. Negligible cost and occasionally useful.

+1

Probably 98% of my financial needs are handled online, but my B&M checking account functions just fine as an online account. The converse is not true of an online only account. I see no upside to intentionally dumping my B&M account and a few minor inconveniences. I could certainly survive without a local branch, but why would I ? Where would I go when I needed to steal a pen ?

 

[Huston55]

Nothing posted so far points to any real value to giving up completely a relationship with a B and M bank or Credit Union. Negligible cost and occasionally useful.

The value of ‘simplicity’ which, for some, is important.

 

[Walt34]

We keep a checking account at a local B&M bank mostly for the ATM's but once or twice a year we have reason to go inside. Also my SS deposit is made there, just to split things up from the credit union where most funds are.

 

[Lsbcal]

Many homes burnt down in our town during the California fires. I talked with one guy who thought his backups and other stuff was safe in his home safe. Sadly the safe was not safe.

We use the safe deposit box at a local bank which appears to be sufficiently far from a fire area (hills + many trees) in a residential area.

Also I now backup a lot of files to the cloud. Google Drive gives you 15GB free.

 

[jazz4cash]

Curiously difficult to establish beneficiaries at my main B&M, BofA. Their online resources are pretty good but they have no info on this topic. I called and was told we must go into a branch and I suspect an addition hurdle when we do. I sense they’d just prefer to have a court order specifying someone to access the account to limit their liability. I’m pretty sure no online bank will force me to do that.

 

[swakyaby]

Many homes burnt down in our town during the California fires. I talked with one guy who thought his backups and other stuff was safe in his home safe. Sadly the safe was not safe.

We use the safe deposit box at a local bank which appears to be sufficiently far from a fire area (hills + many trees) in a residential area.

Also I now backup a lot of files to the cloud. Google Drive gives you 15GB free.

I also met a former homeowner from the Santa Rosa fires in Napa area of California who had stored his backup files and digital documentation of his property and belongings in his fire-proof safe. Sadly, he learned that "fire-proof" meant it was rated to withstand a fire for one hour, and then fire crew are expected to put the fire out. This, of course, did not happen for many Santa Rosa residents whose homes burned to the ground. His recommendation--back up important documents to the cloud.

 

[DeborahB]

I use Ally checking and savings. In terms of transfers,you can wire large amounts of money from there cheaply - I bought a house and sent the down payment to my realtor that way. However I have a B&M checking account at a local bank, so I have easy access to a notary and so on. They wouldn’t give me free checking unless an automatic deposit went in monthly. That annoys me. I keep meaning to look for a better deal locally. I do almost all payments and deposits automatically through Ally.

 

[Miarocks]

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.

What he said.

We have had both B & M and online accounts for years. They each have their advantages, better savings/MM rates online. We’ve been with Capital One Online (formerly ING) for at least 10 years. Never had a problem moving money around, but you do have to plan ahead for large transfers.

DH and I have recently relocated from SoCal to SoAZ, and have kept our Credit Union account from SoCal because we’ve always loved them (dislike big banks), and we’re just not ready to change all our direct deposits and automatic billing yet. We’ve opened a checking account at the local Chase, mainly for cash access (we travel quite a bit and Chase has so many branch locations wherever we tend to go). Got a nice $300 bonus for that.

I imagine we’ll eventually migrate everything over from the CU to the Chase account. We’ll keep the CapOne MM account, too. Their rates are very competitive.

 

[FIREarly]

Online banking is awesome!

Brick and mortar banking makes a simple and easy solution for cash deposits and then transfer the money. There are also very friendly people who work at the brick and mortar bank I make cash deposits at... and some people like the complementary coffee/tea/drink!

 

[audreyh1]

Once every 5-10 years or so, we go to the B&M bank to deposit our spare change. If we do not have an account, there is a charge for using their automatic change counter. I think it is 10%. Our last deposit was around $170 in change. It is not a lot since we do a lot of CC transactions. How do all of you online bankers deal with loose change? Do all ATM's take coins?

Grocery store has change machine. If I take an Amazon or iTunes gift card I get full credit for my change - no fees.