Online banking exclusively?

[Uncle Lumpy]

<mods, please feel free to move this if I've put it in the wrong forum>

Hi all,

I've been banking online since 2002. Even though my main bank was an "online only" bank with no brick & mortar locations, I always kept a few thousand $$$s in a local bank as a fall back source of cash if some weird sort of "cash only" emergency came up. During those 15 years I've never needed that local bank other than as a convenient place to do ATM withdrawals.

Have any of you moved to online banking exclusively with no local banking presence? I'm thinking about moving in that direction as part of my "simplify prior to retirement" movement.

Thanks,
Lumpy

 

[bUU]

We left brick and mortar banking behind in November 2014. What questions can I answer?

 

[braumeister]

99% of my banking is done online, and has been for several decades.

But I've always maintained a small account at a local bank for a couple of reasons.

First, I want a source of customized cash. If I use an ATM, all I can get is $20s. Sometimes I want $50s or $100s and for that I need a real bank.

Second, I occasionally need to have something notarized, and I like being able to just go down the street to the bank for that service.

I've never had much money in a local bank so it's not a huge deal -- I'm only giving up a few bucks a year in interest. But the convenience is certainly worth that.

 

[bUU]

Some brokerages will notarize documents. When we have the need, I drop by the local Fidelity office.

 

[haha]

99% of my banking is done online, and has been for several decades.

But I've always maintained a small account at a local bank for a couple of reasons.

First, I want a source of customized cash. If I use an ATM, all I can get is $20s. Sometimes I want $50s or $100s and for that I need a real bank.

Second, I occasionally need to have something notarized, and I like being able to just go down the street to the bank for that service.

I've never had much money in a local bank so it's not a huge deal -- I'm only giving up a few bucks a year in interest. But the convenience is certainly worth that.

This is how I see it and what I do. OP mentioned simplification. When you can have a human do some task and when she is a few blocks away, to lose her is a complication rather than a simplification.

Ha

 

[athena53]

At some point USAA opened their checking accounts to everyone including those with no military affiliation. I got one around 2012 and have been very happy.

All lawyers are notaries. Some Mailboxes, Etc. offices have one and they charge $3. I'm happy with $20 bills- in fact, I got 20 $100 bills when I sold a car and had no clue what to do with them since I use credit cards for all but the smallest transactions. I finally gave it to my church treasurer as part of my pledge payment so it will be a documented tax deduction. Problem solved.

And I LOVE being able to use any ATM rather than hunt for a particular network since they reimburse any ATM fees up to a reasonable limit.

 

[Aerides]

My UPS store can do notaries for me. The only thing that kept me keeping a local bank was the odd physical check, but now with apps to upload from my phone that need is zero.

I still have a B&M bank but probably the only reason I keep it is convenience and bill-pay setups. My online bank provides free ATM services and quite honestly I think I use an ATM maybe twice a year max?

 

[harley]

My UPS store can do notaries for me. The only thing that kept me keeping a local bank was the odd physical check, but now with apps to upload from my phone that need is zero.

I still have a B&M bank but probably the only reason I keep it is convenience and bill-pay setups. My online bank provides free ATM services and quite honestly I think I use an ATM maybe twice a year max?

My bank has a limit on the size of a check ($1000?) that can be deposited via app. So I still have to drop by occasionally to deposit one. But I do 99% of my banking online, even though it's a B&M bank. I probably hit an ATM once or twice/year too, so even if I ever had to pay a charge it would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Hyperborea]

I do a lot of my banking online. Even most of our dealings with the local credit union are done online. However, there are still times when I need the physical branch of the credit union. The last time was when I bought a used vehicle and needed $6K in cash. I'm not sure how I would have got that otherwise. That was just over 3 years ago. Now, some people will use electronic payment and I did when I sold a used vehicle almost a year ago but I think it carries more risk than physical cash (or at least different risks). I was only willing to do so for that large an amount since the buyer was at the time a co-worker (I hadn't retired yet).

 

[Ready]

I'm very comfortable with online banking and have used Ally for many years. However, I still prefer my checking account to be with a brick and mortar bank. I've had a checking account with Bank of America for over 25 years and see no reason to change. They have fee free ATMs all over the country, and there are times where you just need to be able to get some cash very quickly. I pay no monthly fees. I don't get any interest, but who cares. The dollar amount I keep in there would generate pennies at best.

 

[Cobra9777]

Our only brick-and-mortar bank is a Wells Fargo checking account. It gets very little activity and nothing of a recurring nature. We keep $1500 parked there to avoid any monthly fees. Our kids both have Wells Fargo accounts, so it's a convenient way to transfer money back and forth when needed. Also, I sold a car recently and the buyer paid me with a big stack of $100 bills. I took it down to a Wells Fargo branch to deposit it and then immediately transferred it to our Fidelity CMA, which is where we do most regular banking activity.

We like keeping the WF account for those rare occasions when we need some type of brick-and-mortar service that Fidelity does not offer.

 

[bUU]

Now, some people will use electronic payment and I did when I sold a used vehicle almost a year ago but I think it carries more risk than physical cash (or at least different risks).

Like what?

 

[Hyperborea]

Now, some people will use electronic payment and I did when I sold a used vehicle almost a year ago but I think it carries more risk than physical cash (or at least different risks).

Like what?

I should also clarify that I'm talking about private party sales not purchasing from or selling to a dealer. IMO, the biggest risk is the possibility of disputes or chargebacks. Especially selling a used vehicle you run the risk of somebody changing their mind or having a mishap and disputing the charge. With cash in hand there's no possibility of that though you do run the physical security risk.

 

[brett]

We deal with three banks. Two are exclusively on line banks, ie no bricks and mortar.

The third has branches. The only time we have been in the bricks and mortar
location over the past five years is to access our safe deposit box or to withdraw foreign currency from our foreign currency account.

 

[audreyh1]

Now that electronic deposit is available via our iOS devices, the only reason we go to the bank is to visit our safety deposit box occasionally. Haven't needed the ATM in years. The Costco rebates give us enough cash to last a long time!

 

[Just_Steve]

I like to drive by my bank and wave at my money.

 

[Looking4Ward]

I moved exclusively to online banking (Discover) but then ran into the issues others have mentioned with needing to deposit a large check or withdraw a large sum of cash.

So I also opened an account at a local credit union. I keep maybe $5 in it since there is no monthly fee. I simply use it as a portal for sums that are too large for Discover online.

Oh, and then I opened a Capital 360 checking account because they offered $200 if I made a couple of direct deposits of at least $250 each, which I did and haven't used that account since transferring the $700 balance to Discover.

 

[ERD50]

Like some others, we keep a minimal amount in a local bank. Not much use for it, but "just in case". Plus, we have a safe deposit box there.

... the only reason we go to the bank is to visit our safety deposit box occasionally. ...

OK, I wasn't as sure about this as "[-]Hot[/-] Water Heater", but I was pretty sure it's a safe deposit box. DW always says "safety", I think she does it just to bug me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_deposit_box

A safe deposit box, sometimes known erroneously as a safety deposit box...

Safe-deposit box - Grammarist

The phrase referring to a box in which valuables are stored is safe-deposit box, not safety-deposit box. The latter is an eggcorn resulting from a mishearing of the former. The mistake is understandable because the first two syllables of safe-deposit box sound like safety.

-ERD50

 

[up_north]

I got rid of my local bank savings account a few years ago and I'm just using Schwab for checking. No problems.

 

[friar1610]

Primarily on-line banking with a large CU and that serves 99% of needs. But keep a savings account/ATM card with a local bank with a few thou for reasons mentioned earlier in the thread. Also keep a couple of thousand in fairly small bills in a secure location in case of power outages, natural disasters, etc.

 

[easysurfer]

I have most in online, but do keep a rarely used account with a local bank.

 

[Fedup]

Penfed is my online banking. But strictly for cheap home equity loan, car loan, and credit card. I still have 2 brick and mortar banks. And one HSBC, premier banking, which we are trying to close down.

 

[ownyourfuture]

To each his own, but I've never understood the need for 'online banking'

I have a checking account at my hometown 'brick & mortar' bank.
My health care premium, cable & Internet, natural gas, electricity, city water sewer garbage & telephone bill, are all automatically withdrawn from that account at no charge.

I use direct deposit for my pension check.

My Visa Rewards Card is through Fidelity & I pay that directly from Fidelity.
I also have a pipe-line set up between Fidelity & my bank. If the amount in my checking account grows too high, I'll transfer some to Fidelity.

The only monthly bill that I still pay with a check, is my house payment.
That bank is only about 1.5 miles away, & I pay it in person every month.
If I can't find 15 minutes once a month to go there & make a payment, my life is too busy.

Besides that, I like visiting with the people at my banks. They're all very nice, knowledgeable, & on the rare occasion I need something like a signature guarantee, it's very convenient.

 

[jazz4cash]

What does Fido pay for deposit or CMA accounts?

 

[Scuba]

I use Fidelity online banking and for many years did not have a bricks and mortar bank. However, we took out a HELOC a few years ago that required a checking account at the local branch of a large bank. I still do most of my banking online, but have accessed my local bank for cash needs that couldn't be met with an ATM, safety deposit box, and a signature guarantee once. Signature guarantees can only be done by banks and some brokerage houses, but Fidelity wouldn't do mine because the transaction did not involve funds coming to our from our Fidelity accounts. I think it has been very beneficial to have a local branch of a bank we can go to when we have infrequent needs.