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We Currently use TD Bank, but are shopping around because they have a new maintenance of $15 in any month in which your balance goes below $100. If it hits $99 on Sept 9, on the last day of the billing cycle the $15 gets charged, even if it was below $100 for a single day. We only use a local bank for pay check direct deposits, ATM withdrawals, online bill payments & debit card purchases. We have most of our deposits swept out automatically for mortgage payment and mutual fund investing. Evertyinhg else we know we can spend at will, since the savings/investing part is already done, and on autopilot. I realize we're not an ideal customer for TD Bank, but it'd be a real pain for us to always worry about this $100 threshold.
Who's good to use if just looking for ATM access and a place for my employer to send the money to?
Anything I haven't considered you may have tried that works well?
Just with all the stuff tied to the account, changing banks is a major undtaking these days.
I personally have Wells Fargo. I am not 100% happy with them, but they get the job done and I like the fact they are a national bank. Their customer service has also been exemplary when it comes to getting issues fixed. Of course, the issues I have had were all their fault and I was annoyed I had to deal with them in the first place.
Like you, I keep traditional checking accounts just to pay bills and easily access my money. While Wells Fargo does charge a maintenance fee, they waive it as long as you have a direct deposit going into the account. Many of the banks do this and I am surprised TD doesn't, but I know for a fact they don't. I have looked into other banks in the past and these are the "better" options IMO...
1. The best option if it is available to you is a credit union. They generally charge no fees to members and while they don't have a lot of ATM's they also don't generally charge you for using other peoples ATM's meaning Wawa is now your bank. The downside is you may not be able to join one and they generally only have limited branches, so no doing banking on the run which is necessary because many credit unions have limited online options for bill pay, mobile deposits, etc.
2. Very few banks these days have truly free traditional checking accounts. You have to look into it carefully but many will waive the fees if you have direct deposit. One of the best banks I have found is actually Fulton Bank. They have limited branches, but are a regional bank. If you have a direct deposit, you can get their interest bearing checking account (they only pay interest if the balance is over $1k though) and that comes with all of the usual freebies like checks, debit card, online bill pay, etc. Even better Fulton doesn't charge you a fee from Fulton for using someone else's ATM (almost all other banks do now) so Wawa again becomes your bank. Their debit card is also a rewards card, so even more perks there. Among the regular banks, they were easily the best. The only reason I haven't switched is the sheer hassle of doing it and having to give up having branches everywhere (though this is probably less of an advantage than I think).
3. Just take it all online. When I looked before ING had Electric Orange which was great...except you couldn't write checks off of the account. While I don't write that many, I still needed to be able to. Capital One has since taken over ING and they now offer "360 Checking". It's entirely free and earns interest, even on deposits of a penny. You can write checks off of the account and you get a MasterCard debit card. They don't charge you ATM fees from them (so again, Wawa is your friend) and any "Allpoint ATM" regardless of brand is free to use. I ran a quick search and there are nearly 1,000 free ATM's within 20 miles of Cherry Hill if you use their checking account. You also get free bill pay, mobile deposit and some other things. The only downside is that there is no branch you can go to, but this is becoming less and less of a necessity.
I have PNC. Even my business account is free. And all Wawas are PNC ATMs. Never had 1 problem. One time we left on vacation and my MIL sent in our rent too early. The bank manager helped us out since we were never overdrawn. Also, I believe PNC refused bailout money from the government. They stood on their own.
I have PNC. Even my business account is free. And all Wawas are PNC ATMs. Never had 1 problem. One time we left on vacation and my MIL sent in our rent too early. The bank manager helped us out since we were never overdrawn. Also, I believe PNC refused bailout money from the government. They stood on their own.
A credit union, anyone of them better than a bank I use two, NASA Fed CU and Navy Fed CU, with mobile banking available at both I have no need for a brick and mortar bank..get a check in mail just snap a pic with my cell to deposit.
Rates on CC and auto loans are usually great if you needed that
A credit union, anyone of them better than a bank I use two, NASA Fed CU and Navy Fed CU, with mobile banking available at both I have no need for a brick and mortar bank..get a check in mail just snap a pic with my cell to deposit.
Rates on CC and auto loans are usually great if you needed that
I can't argue with that. Though I belong to two credit unions, I always liked the PNC free WAWA debit when I lived in Southern NJ.
We have an account at South Jersey Credit Union. Back from when my husband worked for Wawa. They charge us a monthly fee if we don't log in to the online banking once a month. I told my husband to close that account ASAP. That's just ridiculous.
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I use two, NASA Fed CU and Navy Fed CU, with mobile banking available at both I have no need for a brick and mortar bank..get a check in mail just snap a pic with my cell to deposit.
