What do you look for in a bank?

Serious question here for a project that I'm working on. This is for everything from the 12 year old opening his first savings account with $200 that he made mowing lawns to the multi billion dollar corporation.

What do you like or dislike about your bank? What made you leave last time? What would make you switch?

For instance, I just opened a new account with a new bank because they offered a nice promotion ($300 at PNC--do a google search and you'll find it). I probably won't stay with them after the promotion is up though, unless they can prove to me that they're better than my current bank which will be difficult--I have had exactly 0 issues with my current bank, and when there was a berkeleyup, it was mine, and they still fixed it.

So what is making you stay with your bank? Leave it? Go to another? Etc.

Money.

Convenience. I tried to switch from Wells Fargo to a local bank, trying to bring my business back local. They were a pain to deal with. After trying to get their clunky website to work and get deposits to post in a timely manner (days, rather than a week), I had enough and went back to WF. I lasted two months.

WF is easy. Their website works flawlessly, they have good hours, the couple of fraud attempts on my account, they have caught before I saw anything. I've never had a problem with them that wasn't my fault. Seamless and flawless service, it's almost unnoticeable. As it should be.

I look for banks that are credit unions. Local ones, at that. Better service, better rates. Online banks suck.

ATM access and online banking. I need to have access wherever I am so a local credit union doesn't work for me. My primary bank is Bank of America but I don't keep much $$ there.

Mostly solid online banking, with good interconnectivity and bill paying. I rarely do anything face-to-face, and don't need access to large amounts of cash regularly. We started out with a local bank 25 years ago, because it was the bank my parents used. They were absorbed by PNC about 15 years ago, and we have never felt need to change.

I get decent online bill payment (not perfect, but good enough) and since both my daughters maintain simple savings accounts that are attached to our account structure, we can move money back and forth easily. They've had decent customer service when needed. It works for us, certainly well enough to stick with them.

If you can shake the bank president's hand on the day you sign up is a big plus for me. Local banks rule. I made the pres. laugh when I told him that I came from Chase (ugh) and that if I saw their president, I'd probably take a swing at him.

You're in Illinois. State law (I think) seems to favor local banks, or at least put them on a level field with those huge national chain banks.

I opened a secondary account at Eastern Bank to get a free GoPro. I stuck around because they refund ATM fees and their customer service has been great, and it also allows me to direct deposit a certain amount of money for "unbudgeted spending" each paycheck. So it's been pretty convenient.

What I'm saying is, I guess the promotions work, provided the bank is actually decent.

For me it's convenience. I need an ATM close by that I can use without being charged, and I don't want to drive very far to get to an office to deposit my birthday check from my grandmother. I'm a member of a credit union now but they closed the branch that used to be in the building I work in so now office access is a pain. I like them otherwise though, which is making it hard for me to switch.

Toyman01 wrote: WF is easy. Their website works flawlessly, they have good hours, the couple of fraud attempts on my account, they have caught before I saw anything. I've never had a problem with them that wasn't my fault. Seamless and flawless service, it's almost unnoticeable. As it should be.

I've been with Wells Fargo for 35 years or more, and agree with the above. Another advantage, at least in my area, is there are Wells Fargo cash machines everywhere and I can use them without a service charge.

I used to do my banking with Bastion of Anarchy (B of A) but now, I’d rather pour lighter fluid on my money and toss a match than have anything to do with those shiny happy people.

I’ve operated a small side business that involves quarters for decades and everything was great until the bank changed their coin receipt policy to one that would best be described as “push and pray” where you push your bags of coins through the window and then you pray they decide to let you have some of it.

Seriously, the only documentation of the transaction is a hand written journal entry that they keep and you walk out absolutely empty handed….it’s beyond bizarre, it’s literally a surreal experience.

Shortly after their policy change, I began to get shorted.

By the way, I have a professional mechanical counter, I run my coins through twice and in over two decades, there has never been a variance of more than a couple of quarters.

Additionally, I deliver the quarters in purpose designed sealed, tamper proof, clear, serialized bags so any monkey business between counting and delivery can definitively be ruled out.

Anyway, at first I was getting shorted around $50 per $500 bag but then it quickly progressed to $100, then $150 before I found someone else that would accept my quarters so I could get the hell away from those people.

I did report the incident to the Feds but since the total loss was only around $650 before I escaped they weren’t up for landing a SWAT team on the bank’s front lawn.

I'm currently with 3 banks: a local credit union that surprisingly has an amazing website. I use it for the majority of my banking. My wife has her accounts there too. I love that they know us when we walk in. They also have free mobile deposit.

I also use PNC for convenience. Their online stuff is OK, but their branches and ATMs are super convenient for me. They also have free mobile deposit.

I opened my Key account when I went to college for convenience and ATMs. They suck, but I keep them because my paypal is connected to that account. Their website sucks. They charge for mobile deposit. They moved their neighborhood branch diagonal across the street and its no longer convenient.

I have used a few small banks that were absorbed by Huntington, but left when they were taken over. Now though, I hear Huntington is better and they have some pretty good promotions going.

I also had a chase account briefly from a promotion. It was the worst bank experience of my life due to all of the fees.

I convinced my 12 year old daughter to start saving. She's up to $2000. The quarterly penny she gets for interest is funny. But there are no charges for a junior savings account.

Where are the cameras? How many guards? What time do they change shift? How much money do they keep at the counter? What time does the truck come for pickups? Are there skylights? Where would snipers have the visual advantage... obfuscated exits, etc. You know, the usual stuff.

I have been using a credit union for 15 years now. The only reason I have an account with a regular bank is to do wire occasional transfers outside the US.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Where are the cameras? How many guards? What time do they change shift? How much money do they keep at the counter? What time does the truck come for pickups? Are there skylights? Where would snipers have the visual advantage... obfuscated exits, etc. You know, the usual stuff.

I could have read that post on any forum and known who it came from. That's scary.

Carry on...

I look for them to not be in the news (Chase). (Berking criminals)

I use a Credit Union now, they recognize me, I don't have to fill out the useless deposit slip and they have a great web interface.

Credit Union. Large banks are run by criminals, offer nothing in the way of service, nickel and dime you with fees, and use their influence in government to deny you the option of using a Credit Union. Also, since they are "too big to fail," the government will reward their unethical and reckless financial practices with multi-trillion dollar bailouts, plus a nice bonus.

I don't do business with banks.

Regarding ATM availability, aren't most credit unions (at least the better ones) part of a huge network of fee free ATM's these days?

PNC has my checking and savings accounts, my mortgage and a car loan. The reason is that they give me excellent service and support and the best rates of anyone. They had my mortgage at a higher rate, but called me and told me that they had a lower mortgage rate available and did the switch with no fees or hassle.

stuart in mn wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: WF is easy. Their website works flawlessly, they have good hours, the couple of fraud attempts on my account, they have caught before I saw anything. I've never had a problem with them that wasn't my fault. Seamless and flawless service, it's almost unnoticeable. As it should be.

I've been with Wells Fargo for 35 years or more, and agree with the above. Another advantage, at least in my area, is there are Wells Fargo cash machines everywhere and I can use them without a service charge.

I'm getting ready to drop those bastards soon. I was with Wachovia for years, had an overdraft protection account and when WF bought them the account transferred, stayed that way for probably 5 years. I never used it; the only reason I signed up was that the transfer fee etc was only about $2 and even if I did use it and incur interest that was cheaper than return check fees, etc. I have also had 4 home mortgages, 2 with WF which have been paid in full and on time.

So one day I get a letter in the mail telling me that based on my credit history they are closing my PLOC (Personal Line of Credit), i.e. the overdraft account. There ain't squat wrong with my credit; it was some trumped up BS to close that account. That became clear about 3 weeks later when I got a nice fancy letter offering me a NEW! IMPROVED! way to avoid bounced checks; they would automatically transfer funds from my savings to my checking for the LOW! LOW! fee of only $10 per transfer so that I could avoid overdraft fees. Oh, how sweet. You are going to charge me $10 a pop to transfer MY money from one account to another? And the interest paid on the savings is like 5-6 cents a month? I don't think so.

I also have a VISA card which had a low introductory rate; if you read the application it's damn near impossible to discern how much the real rate will be once the intro period is over. I also have a Chase card, keep this in mind for the next part: the intro period ended, the rate went up to a rate which is ABOVE what Chase charges as a 'punitive' rate and I have the lowest rate possible for a Chase card.

So I go to the local branch, lay out my credit and income history, the branch manager says 'nope can't do a card for a lower rate but I can do a PLOC'. Now just a damn minute; y'all told me I couldn't get a PLOC based on my so-called (non existent) credit problems but now you say I can? Lying bastards. The card has been paid off and closed.

Then I was perusing my checking statement one day, saw a $5 service charge. Huh? I have NEVER paid a service charge on that checking account. It took some digging but it seems that if my checking balance drops below $1500 I get hit with a service fee. I looked through my crap; it's not mentioned anywhere. It seems that if I were a NEW customer I could get no-charge checking but as an existing customer, nope. That's the last damn straw.

Right now I can't switch easily because my daughter's accounts are linked to mine, but when she turns 18 in July that ends. When that does, I'm going to TD Bank; that's who handles all of the commercial accounts relating to my dad's estate and Wells Fargo can kiss my ass.

EDIT: I'd really like to go to a credit union, but there is a possible move (the timing is unclear at the moment) in my future. That means I'd have to swap around again. Once I get resettled I'll look into a CU in the new area.

I've been with BoA for ages now... although through no real choice of my own... They are actually the 4th bank in the same location after a series of mergers.

While folks poo on them a lot, I've never really had a problem. The online banking set-up works. There are branches near my home and office when I need them. I don't really have a need or reason to change.

Curmudgeon wrote: Right now I can't switch easily because my daughter's accounts are linked to mine, but when she turns 18 in July that ends. When that does, I'm going to TD Bank; that's who handles all of the commercial accounts relating to my dad's estate and Wells Fargo can kiss my ass. EDIT: I'd really like to go to a credit union, but there is a possible move (the timing is unclear at the moment) in my future. That means I'd have to swap around again. Once I get resettled I'll look into a CU in the new area.

What do you like about TD, on both the commercial and retail side?

mtn wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: Right now I can't switch easily because my daughter's accounts are linked to mine, but when she turns 18 in July that ends. When that does, I'm going to TD Bank; that's who handles all of the commercial accounts relating to my dad's estate and Wells Fargo can kiss my ass. EDIT: I'd really like to go to a credit union, but there is a possible move (the timing is unclear at the moment) in my future. That means I'd have to swap around again. Once I get resettled I'll look into a CU in the new area.

What do you like about TD, on both the commercial and retail side?

I can access accounts via Internet as easily through TD as I can WF. Their mobile app works as well, too.

Around here, they have probably 2/3 the branches but that's a good thing; their overhead is lower.

I can get a no-fee checking account.

So far they've never screwed up our commercial stuff.

My oldest brother switched to TD from BB&T a few years ago; he has had nothing but good to say. I dislike WF's sneakiness, particularly the whole PLOC BS. All they had to do was notify me the account was being closed due to inactivity, the whole 'credit score' thing was completely unnecessary. So was the fee for my account dropping below $1500.

Oh yeah, one other thing: for various reasons I needed to link one of our TD accounts to my WF. After going through all the crap, I can transfer from the TD account to my WF account but not the other way around. TD says they will transfer both ways but WF won't allow it; company policy they say.

As a mass-market client with a background in the industry, this is my personal criteria:
1) No fees, for anything
2) Fast, frictionless self-service: mobile deposit, online/mobile money movement, bill pay
3) Convenient access to no-fee ATMs
4) Don't make me ever set foot in a branch

Curmudgeon wrote:

mtn wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: Right now I can't switch easily because my daughter's accounts are linked to mine, but when she turns 18 in July that ends. When that does, I'm going to TD Bank; that's who handles all of the commercial accounts relating to my dad's estate and Wells Fargo can kiss my ass. EDIT: I'd really like to go to a credit union, but there is a possible move (the timing is unclear at the moment) in my future. That means I'd have to swap around again. Once I get resettled I'll look into a CU in the new area.

What do you like about TD, on both the commercial and retail side?

I can access accounts via Internet as easily through TD as I can WF. Their mobile app works as well, too. Around here, they have probably 2/3 the branches but that's a good thing; their overhead is lower. I can get a no-fee checking account. So far they've never screwed up our commercial stuff. My oldest brother switched to TD from BB&T a few years ago; he has had nothing but good to say. I dislike WF's sneakiness, particularly the whole PLOC BS. All they had to do was notify me the account was being closed due to inactivity, the whole 'credit score' thing was completely unnecessary. So was the fee for my account dropping below $1500. Oh yeah, one other thing: for various reasons I needed to link one of our TD accounts to my WF. After going through all the crap, I can transfer from the TD account to my WF account but not the other way around. TD says they will transfer both ways but WF won't allow it; company policy they say.

Do you know why your brother switched from BB&T? Because I've heard nothing but good things from them, and I really like their CEO--he just seems to get it, and his message has always been customer service. Did they lose that with your brother?

Keep in mind, I cannot bank with them due to location. So I don't know a lot of people with them either.