So, my history with banks is a bit sordid. I’ve always been a bit mistrustful of them as they seem to be more into screwing people over at every turn to make more profit. I never had any large tussles with them, and I remember the pure power of capitalism I felt when I got my first checking account with attached debit card at 16 years old. I also am happy to say I think I only ever overdrew my account once and it was back in the days when the overdraft charge was about $10 (IE, before banks started to get really evil).
My first series of banks was with a rapidly-growing institution famous for having a CEO that whined about bad banks getting money during the initial financial meltdown, thus ensuring good banks got money too. My experience with them can basically be summed up as “they always set things right, but I always had to visit a branch twice or more: The first time trying to do something not complicated (like a deposit), the second (and subsequent) time(s) to try and fix the screw-up.” The incident that made me leave them was when I tried to deposit a rather large personal check to cover some student loan payments, only to have the branch I looked up on the Internet not be open at the slated time… making me deposit it into the ATM… which means I got a call later saying “sorry, this check is so large we need to have a 10-day hold on it to make sure the check clears”… WITHIN MINUTES of me setting up the student loan payment online… thus making me go in to do a cash advance from a credit card to cover the loan payment… which the teller assured me didn’t have any fees… and then having to go back when there were fees and beg for them to refund them… which to their credit they did. Needless to say, I decided my time with them was complete and went elsewhere.
I chose to go with a new regional bank. I liked them the most because they seemed to be big without being huge… and I had a fear of huge banks because they seemed to just be more expensive and meaner than smaller regional banks. I also loved that they had adorable mini-branches in local Grocery Stores around here with Saturday hours. For them most part this new bank was delightful for many, many years. The branch staff was friendly, I never remembered having any issues, and I loved the grocery store mini-branch.
Then, Debit-Card-Pocalypse happened. My bank sent me a letter (and an email) about 6 months ago detailing changes that will occur by the end of next month (and I credit them sincerely for giving me lots of time). The letter/email can be summed up as: “We’re ending free checking due to banking regulation changes. It looks like you qualify for fee-free basic checking because you use Direct Deposit. Please check the website to see if it is right for you”. So I went to look at the terms for Basic Checking and found a nasty little surprise in the form of a $5-a-month fee to use a debit card. I had the option to upgrade to a nicer account to avoid the debit card fee, but that either required refinancing my mortgage with them, or taking several thousand dollars out of my High Yield Internet Savings Account (1.24%, sorry, they’re sold out of them) and placing them to fester in no-or-low interest checking. I decided to shop around.
The megabank that holds my mortgage seemed like a logical choice, because they finance my house and car, but they didn’t really have any bonuses for shared accounts like my regional bank did, and news was breaking about them “experimenting” with debit card fees in Georgia. While it was nice the closest branch was within walking distance of my house, work, and seemed to be the default ATM in every mall, airport, parking lot, and random social center, I couldn’t bring myself to go into a branch and ask because I was pretty sure they would just become mean and/or incompetent like all the other banks sooner than later.
So I ended up researching and applying to two credit unions. The first was an internet-only affair that had a really cool “take a picture of a check to deposit it” feature that I found out I didn’t qualify-for after signing up (I’ve since un-signed-up). The other was a local credit union. Within a day, a polite loan officer at the local credit union was contacting me about the credit card, asking if I wanted to refinance the Miata (2%, get them while they’re hot), and helping me set up my new accounts. I spent a week or two making sure all linked accounts and bill payments were transferred from the regional bank, and just last week I closed my bank accounts for good.
I for the most part like the local credit union. I get good rates on basic savings and even on checking. I can use a smattering of ATM’s around town in places like grocery stores and pharmacies. The branches are not convenient, but I can keep my errands under and hour so long as I don’t try to go at rush hour. They also have really low rates on auto loans and mortgages. I also feel like I’m helping a local community non-profit grow, as opposed to condoning evil for-profit banking.
I also will probably not use my free debit card with my new credit union very much. In the scores of tips and tricks about how to try and get a free debit card now that banks seem to be punishing customers for governmental regulations, I came across an interview with Frank Abignale Jr. (of Catch Me if You Can fame) saying that really, debit cards are insidious in that they are attached to your money. The nice thing about Credit Cards is that if they get used for fraud, whatever miscreant is spending someone else’s money… so if you go “hey, that wasn’t me”, then you basically aren’t on the hook for paying it back. If a criminal steals your debit card info, they rip-off your checking account, and suddenly that three or four business days to return cash to said checking account is much more dire. Thus, I barely touch that card. I basically use it in ATM’s and will probably only use it to buy a $21 pack of gum if I am way outside my home state.
Here’s to hoping the credit union continues to be better than any bank. I am under the impression they won’t really have to try very hard.