Banking Local????

[Alicia Leonard]

Credit Unions, to our family, are the way to go. LS is right about the interest rates paid but the overall service is great. I belong to two and one is the Army Aviation Federal Credit Union which is open for all residents of Walton County to join. There are many benefits to a credit union. It is worth your time to check them out. I haven't used a bank in over twenty years.

Thanks, Andy

 

[30ashopper]

This actually brought to mind a question thats been nagging me - do folks down here have safety deposit boxes in local banks on the peninsula? Ever since Katrina I've been wondering if I should move my keep sakes to a branch farther north.

 

[scooterbug44]

Shockaroo - I do most of my banking at the same small home town bank where Mama Scooterbug opened accounts for us when we were little kids.

It's a quality of service issue - when I call, I speak DIRECTLY to a human (after hours I leave a message or send an email that is returned within an hour of the bank opening), can schedule payments or transfers and check my account info over the phone or online 24/7, and pay far less for fees (trying to think of one I DO pay) and get great rates for services and accounts.

And if there is some sort of problem, I immediately get a phone call from them to alert me and a swift resolution...................not a letter days later, fees, or an inactive account or card.

P.S. Guess whose bank was NOT involved in subprime lending and was opening a new branch while the big ones were begging for government money?

 

[scooterbug44]

This actually brought to mind a question thats been nagging me - do folks down here have safety deposit boxes in local banks on the peninsula? Ever since Katrina I've been wondering if I should move my keep sakes to a branch farther north.

Yes, but waterproof items just in case (Ziploc or 2). That's a good safeguard in any safety deposit box, not just for hurricane zones.

And have a copy of important info somewhere else just in case - email yourself some important numbers (like your insurance policy number etc.), or scans of important documents.

 

[Teresa]

I think its all in what you need from a bank. I'm with 30AShopper - the small local banks just don't offer the kind of online services I need - which is total online everything (bill pay, direct deposit, QB & Quicken compabibility - seamless downloading etc, transfers, and everything automated in the most efficient way for both personal and business banking. A larger bank (such as Wachovia/Wells Fargo) provides a comprehensive range of banking services, but mostly it offers what I need - the local office branches are very tiny and the folks there definitely know me and take care of whatever I need. I've worked with the same folks for several years. They totally go out of their way to provide the services I need. but the main thing is that due to online services I hardly ever have to enter the bank for any reason -which is key for me.

But, I can see how each person has different needs so you just have to go do your research! as in any other kind of financial decision.

Full, reliable online services for both personal and business banking is really necessary for most folks these days I do believe. Many smaller banks may offer online services but they may be limited in ways that really matter to your needs (this is what happened in my case with a local bank). check it all out.

 

[TooFarTampa]

I use USAA exclusively, and have for at least 10 years. I have never been in a USAA branch. I am not sure if they have any.

Here are the ways they make it easy:

- Timely direct deposit
- The ability to deposit at home using a scanner -- it takes only minutes and the deposit is credited immediately! For the rare checks that my scanner does not work with, I mail it in and it shows up in 2 days.
- Now you can use your iPhone to make a deposit by taking a picture of your check! I have not tried this though.
- Free checks
- Every month they refund up to $15/month for ATM fees from other banks.
- Small amounts of interest on checking, just as a nice bonus.
- Full, reliable online services

Bottom line: Banking this way is convenient and I never am charged fees for anything! If you can find a small or online bank that can do these things for you, you will never ever miss your branch. I really dislike most of the big banks.

P.S. USAA is now open to ALL former military.

 

[Beach Bimmer]

We always discuss how buying local impacts our community. How does banking local impact our community and is it something we should strive to do if possible?

We spent 15 years with Bank of America (BOA)and its predecessors...until they started arbitrarily raising our interest rates on credit cards most every quarter beginning about three years ago. We were not paying late, credit scores were fine, etc.

The BOA branch manager we had worked with in Destin admitted that local BOA managers no longer had the ability to make many decisions - everything had become "corporate". The shocker was when we found out that when customers came into a BOA branch and needed decisions regarding loans, interest rates on credit, etc. often the BOA branch managers were calling the same 800 phone numbers that customers were told to call. Local decision-making had been taken away.

Oh, and don't get me started about the phone rooms in India that Bank of America farmed out customer support to. "Helloooo, my nem ees "Jack", how can I 'elp yew" got to be routine...and this was Bank of America?

We interviewed 7 banks, including Regions, Suntrust, Wachovia, Whitney, Trustmark, and some smaller community banks. We chose Trustmark because their branch manager and even regional VP took the time to come out and get to know us and our business; they understood the seasonality of our income; they offered reasonable interest rates; and most importantly to us, they still had local managers who could make a decision.

It's been over a year now and everything about Trustmark has proven to be the best banking relationship we've ever had. They even helped us get an SBA ARC (small business stimulus) loan completed, which had tough qualifying guidelines that Bank of America could not begin to fathom on our behalf.

We have a SoWal friend (thanks BB!) to thank for recommending Trustmark to us, and we would recommend them to anyone looking for a bank that can "keep it local" even with their regional presence.

Wow, can't believe how from the heart I just wrote that!

 

[scooterbug44]

Do other banks actually need time to do a direct deposit transaction/transfer funds? It just takes seconds if you have the right numbers.

Dunno about using Quicken etc. or scanning in checks as I don't need to do those things, so dunno if my bank has it available.

Do get interest on my checking acct - along w/ some sort of refund points system for how much I spend w/ my credit card that I can redeem for cash, prizes, gift certificates etc.

Beach Bimmer - I have a local account w/ Trustmark too. Not as great as my bank back home, but a nice 2nd and a FAR cry above the corporate evil that is Bank of America!

 

[Teresa]

Trustmark is a fine local bank as so many around here will attest.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

We spent 15 years with Bank of America (BOA)and its predecessors...until they started arbitrarily raising our interest rates on credit cards most every quarter beginning about three years ago. We were not paying late, credit scores were fine, etc.

The BOA branch manager we had worked with in Destin admitted that local BOA managers no longer had the ability to make many decisions - everything had become "corporate". The shocker was when we found out that when customers came into a BOA branch and needed decisions regarding loans, interest rates on credit, etc. often the BOA branch managers were calling the same 800 phone numbers that customers were told to call. Local decision-making had been taken away.

Oh, and don't get me started about the phone rooms in India that Bank of America farmed out customer support to. "Helloooo, my nem ees "Jack", how can I 'elp yew" got to be routine...and this was Bank of America?

We interviewed 7 banks, including Regions, Suntrust, Wachovia, Whitney, Trustmark, and some smaller community banks. We chose Trustmark because their branch manager and even regional VP took the time to come out and get to know us and our business; they understood the seasonality of our income; they offered reasonable interest rates; and most importantly to us, they still had local managers who could make a decision.

It's been over a year now and everything about Trustmark has proven to be the best banking relationship we've ever had. They even helped us get an SBA ARC (small business stimulus) loan completed, which had tough qualifying guidelines that Bank of America could not begin to fathom on our behalf.

We have a SoWal friend (thanks BB!) to thank for recommending Trustmark to us, and we would recommend them to anyone looking for a bank that can "keep it local" even with their regional presence.

Wow, can't believe how from the heart I just wrote that!

Do other banks actually need time to do a direct deposit transaction/transfer funds? It just takes seconds if you have the right numbers.

Dunno about using Quicken etc. or scanning in checks as I don't need to do those things, so dunno if my bank has it available.

Do get interest on my checking acct - along w/ some sort of refund points system for how much I spend w/ my credit card that I can redeem for cash, prizes, gift certificates etc.

Beach Bimmer - I have a local account w/ Trustmark too. Not as great as my bank back home, but a nice 2nd and a FAR cry above the corporate evil that is Bank of America!

Trustmark is a fine local bank as so many around here will attest.

Trustmark is on the list in the link that I first posted as is my bank, FNBT.

BB, your experience is very much what I was hoping to hear. I already bank local and have since I moved back in 96, but was curious if the movement was satisfactory for others, as well as a way to protest business practices against a few unscrupulous lenders. Thanks guys