looking for a new bank

[Aden]

I have been banking with ing direct for years, and could not be more thrilled with their policies, interest rates and emphasis on you saving your money. I still have my crap-tastic wells fargo account, but I just use it as a place to walk in and make a deposit if I need to (like if I have cash in hand). I maintain a balance of about 30 bucks in my wells fargo account. ING direct is an online bank, but they'll mail checks for you for free and you actually get paid interest on your checking account balance (if you ever have one). Instead of charging you a fee, they give you a set amount of overdraft credit. I believe it's 165 bucks or something. All they charge you in whatever the going interest rate is (5% or what have you) for each day until you pay back the balance. I've never paid more that 50 cents interest on going over my actual cash balance. It's a super sweet bank, and if you open an account... you should tell 'em that I sent ya. I will get a sweet bonus for referring a friend.

http://www.ingdirect.com

LOVE THEM

[the_orf]

A credit union is like a co-op...

Those seem to be the bulk of the good points. What's the down side? It seems like a credit union is the best bet, but if that were the case, then they'd be better competitors to banks.

In the way that co-op grocery stores are a better deal for their members but not as plentiful as for-profit grocers, so the credit unions are a better deal but not as plentiful. The limited resources prevent credit unions from making large loans, and the requirement that one be a qualified member of the credit union prevents a lot of business-oriented banking. Also, because there are fewer credit unions in existence, they're not as convenient as a megabank with ATMs every block. Them's your down sides.

The next question will be: How does one find the best credit union?

Most credit unions have some kind of qualification criteria to join. To use the Education Employees Credit Union, you have to be employed in the education field. To join Telco Federal Credit Union, it used to be that you had to work for a telephone company; the credit union was a service they provided their employees so they didn't have to use banks. To answer your question about finding the best one, I would (1) find out which ones you qualify to use; and then (2) see which of those give the best interest rates on your checking account, have the most branches around town, etc. I would think some internet searching could find that out for you.


By the way, for all you people sick of getting screwed by overdraft fees, the Fed has heard your pleas:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_ ... draft_fees

[arthursimone]

By the way, for all you people sick of getting screwed by overdraft fees, the Fed has heard your pleas:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_ ... draft_fees

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Banks will have to secure their customers' consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according to a new rule announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve.

The rule responds to complaints from consumer groups, members of Congress and other regulators that the overdraft fees are unfair because many people assume they can't spend more on a debit card than is available in their account. Instead, many banks allow the transactions to go through, then charge fees of up to $25 to $35.

For small purchases, such as a cup of coffee, the penalty can far exceed the actual cost of the transaction.

Under the Fed's new rule, which will take effect July 1, banks will be required to notify new and existing customers of their overdraft services and give customers the option of being covered. If customers don't "opt in," any debit or ATM transactions that overdraw their accounts will be denied, Fed officials said.

Many consumers do want checks and regular electronic bill payments to be covered in the event of an overdraft, Fed officials said. As a result, those transactions aren't covered by the rule.

Banks earn as much as $25 billion to $38 billion annually from overdraft fees, Fed officials said, but that total includes check overdrafts.

Many larger banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo & Co. began instituting similar "opt-in" plans in late September after coming under fire for the fees.

But consumer groups and other regulators, including Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, said new rules were still necessary to ensure smaller banks followed suit.

Many lawmakers have criticized the Fed for failing to provide sufficient consumer protection in the past, a defect they say contributed to last year's financial crisis. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., on Tuesday introduced a bill that would strip the Fed of its consumer oversight.

Dodd also proposed legislation last month that would have imposed limits similar to the Fed's on the banks' ability to charge overdraft fees.

[RUTHIE]

How do these forurms work? Am I expected to reply to every thing? This is a lot. I am afraid I will be unable to respond to every post. I hope you will forgive me. It is not a personal statement.

[the_orf]

If somebody on these forums used my name as reference when opening a new account at Wachovia, THANK YOU! I got an unexpected surprise of a referral bonus in the mail a few days ago.

[apiaryist]

I know this thread is close to dead. but I can't help it. The following video makes so much sense to me and feels so right, I had to share it. You owe it to yourself to check out the website, too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icqrx0OimSs[/youtube]

http://moveyourmoney.info/

[arthursimone]

If somebody on these forums used my name as reference when opening a new account at Wachovia, THANK YOU! I got an unexpected surprise of a referral bonus in the mail a few days ago.

It was me!
Wachovia's treated me well so far.
Go to hell, Chase!

[jkg79]

One more thing about Credit Unions:

Most of them have what are called Share branches. Not every branch is a share branch, but there are usually at least two or three in a city, depending on size. I bank with a Credit Union in Louisiana. If I want to deposit or withdraw money, i can go to any Credit Union Share Branch, no matter if it is my credit union or not, and deposit or withdraw money to or from my Credit Union checking account. Just fill out a tiny little deposit or withdrawal slip. Also, many, but not all, credit union ATMs will not charge a fee if you belong to another credit union and withdraw money from their ATM. If they do, it is usually much smaller than the ones at regular banks. For instance if I go to a UFCU ATM, they charge me $1.50, as opposed to the $3 I spent at the Wells Fargo ATM last night. It's like being in a special money club.
YAY!