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

[sengsational]

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.

Exactly! All of the above. We got all of those services, including the safety deposit box, for maintaining a minimum balance for about 25 years. A couple of years ago, they started charging $60 for the safety deposit box. I found a CU with a free box, but it's a 15 minute drive, whereas our box is under 2 miles away now...DW doesn't like change, so we're still there.

 

[Mdlerth]

Sometimes there no substitute for human contact

There is a branch of my credit union located just spitting distance from my place of empl*yment. Paycheck gets deposited there anyway. It's so convenient I can't see the point in severing the connection. ATM, free coffee, cashier's checks, etc... all the advantages other posters have mentioned.

But once DW and I clock out for good, we'll be moving to the lake house and may decide differently. Or we may not. It could very well be that DW goes stir crazy out there (I won't; I love the quiet) and looks for any excuse to head back to town just to interact with human beings. "I need to do some banking today. I'll be back at cocktail time."

So much of business today has eliminated person-to-person contact, and it's not all good. For example, there isn't much that irritates me as much as telephone screening robots ("To continue in English, press 1"). Just let me talk to a real person on the other end ASAP!

 

[corn18]

Been online only with USAA since online existed.

 

[Bestwifeever]

DH needs his “people” to ask questions of wherever we are or whatever he’s doing; we have two separate B&M banks, within a few blocks of our home, so he can ask away. And he does.

 

[cooch96]

That’s a good service, as are free medallion signature guarantees.

+1

That’s actually the only thing I’ve used them for in 19 years. I’ve been a pen fed customer since 1999.

 

[mickeyd]

I have been banking @ USAA for 30+ years. I stay with them for no particular reason, but I really do not have much money involved in the process and my checking account seldom has more than a few thousand bucks in it as I quickly move any excess to my PMMF. It's just a temporary place to in/out my cash. I would handle it this way if I used an online account, so why move it?

 

[mickeyd]

Been online only with USAA since online existed.

As have I, but I consider USAA as a brick/mortar bank since it has such a facility in SA. 99% of my interaction with USAA is online though.

 

[gretah]

My favorite "benefit" was at a bank which was located next to my old office. The had a great free coffee corner set up for customers. They also had a medallion guarantee, and there was a period of time after DF passed that I needed it a lot.

Being able to get medallion guarantees is the biggest reason for using a B&M bank, IMO.

When you need medallions, you really, really need them.

 

[OldShooter]

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.

I do something like this. Virtually all of my banking is with Schwab bank, but I keep a local Wells account with a very small balance. When I need cash, usually for a trip, I just transfer what I need to Wells and pick it up. We often offer to pay tour operators cash on arrival, which many are really grateful for. Also, the defacto rule in some countries is that $USD must be in brand new or at least perfect $100 bills due to risk of counterfeiting. So I have to stand at the teller window and inspect each bill before I accept it. Hard to do by mail.

Another angle, Schwab will not accept physical cash deposits. I sent in a couple of checks one time plus a single one-dollar bill that the dog had chewed in half. They sent the bill back overnight by Federal Express. Crazy.

Finally, DW has kept her Wells account and uses it rather than Schwab. This gives us two independent debit cards for use in overseas ATMs. The ATM situation has gotten better over the last 10 years or so but it's nice to have the backup if needed.

 

[Ready]

I’ve had a Bank of America checking account since the 80’s. There are no fees and I don’t keep enough money in it to care about interest. They have ATMs everywhere which has been convenient. But my savings account has been Ally (online) for years. I see no reason to go with a B&M bank for savings if you keep a significant amount of cash in them. Just go with the highest rates.

I can’t remember the last time I walked in to a Bank of America branch though, and I’d hardly say I have a “relationship” with them. I just haven’t been given a good enough reason to close the account yet. I would never buy a CD from them, or use them for investing or any other services. I suppose every once in a while I need a cashier’s check, but it’s been years since I’ve needed one.

Their checks are free, but I probably write no more than five checks a year at this point, so a small batch of checks is a lifetime supply for me.

 

[jazz4cash]

I just revamped my SHTF contingency plan to maintain 2-3 local B&M accounts including at least one with no online access and preferably within walking/biking distance from my home. Besides that, B of A billpay is so good I’d have a hard time giving it up. I do have accounts at 7 different banks/credit unions so maybe I’m just a hoarder.

 

[Sanstar]

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.

 

[Nick12]

I believe in brick and mortar banking. Some others I know believe in putting their $$ under their mattress or in a shoebox and do not generally trust banks.

 

[GravitySucks]

I keep my credit union for the reasons stated plus:

About ten years ago DW and I decided to get down to one credit card. The day before a three week vacation the bank put a hold on the card due to fraud detection. I went to my credit union and they issues me a Visa debut card in 15 minutes. The bank would have been a hassle.

Human contact. It gives me an excuse to talk to nice people IRL.

 

[davebarnes]

For me--DCU.org member since 1976.
100% online with them since 1985.

 

[athena53]

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.

 

[Lakewood90712]

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.

 

[CRLLS]

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.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

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]

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.

 

[steelyman]

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).

 

[Jerry1]

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.

 

[Huston55]

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.

 

[HI Bill]

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.

 

[imoldernu]

Where would we get our annual calendar?