Why Do You Bank Where You Do?
Here’s a post worth reading:
http://www.johnbatdorf.net/blog/WhyDoYouBankWhereYouDo.aspx
John asks the question, Why do you bank where you do? Great question. I wonder what percentage of the people out there would answer, “just because”?
I’m with John 110%. I will only go to a credit union. Why take my money to a place that is trying to make a profit off of me? Of course there are some people that just have no other choice because they live in a town that only has one or two banks and no credit unions. If you do have a credit union in your town, you should really look in to joining. They have loosened up the membership rules so that just about anyone can join any credit union. Check it out!
10 Responses to “Why Do You Bank Where You Do?”
Comment from SingleGuyMoney
Time December 10, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I bank at B of A because of the convenience and I love the interface of their online banking. All my accounts are free and I have not paid a service charge. With the interest they pay on my money market account, they are paying me to be a customer.
Comment from Hazzard
Time December 10, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I guess the most important thing is that you’ve actually thought about it. Have you compared the rates that you are getting at BofA to what you could get at a local credit union? I’m getting much higher rates on my money at our credit union
Comment from her every cent counts
Time December 10, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I bank at BoA because of all the ATMs they have across the country. They’re not the best bank, that’s for sure, and they are too big to be great with customer service, but they do the trick when it comes to making my money easy to access. I really need to move the $ in my low-interest CDs far away from BoA as soon as they expire, though.
Comment from Hazzard
Time December 10, 2007 at 8:25 pm
I know that BofA has a ton of ATM’s but I think that the credit unions, combined, have at least as many as BofA. That’s one of the nice things about credit unions. I can use just about any credit union’s ATM in the country and not pay a fee.
Comment from thisisbeth
Time December 11, 2007 at 10:23 am
My checking account is at the credit union (as well as a savings account), but most of my of savings is at online banks, simply for the highest interest rates.
Comment from Meg
Time December 11, 2007 at 10:32 am
I work at a bank, so I bank there for convenience, of course. 
But I have my EF with Vanguard (Prime money market fund) because of the great rates. I also love their website and I have my Roth IRA there, so it’s convenient as well.
I don’t think you need a credit union unless it’s to take out lower interest rate loans (I hear they have great deals on car loans, for instance). I don’t have any such loans, though, so there’s really no advantage to a credit union for me.
Comment from Grace
Time December 11, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I started out forty years ago at Ben Franklin Savings and Loan. Never heard of it? Well, I stayed put, but the name on the letterhead changed many times over the past decade, so now I’m banking with B of A, having never changed account numbers. For checking and easy online service, nothing beats them. But for my mortgage, my car loans (when I had them–I got over that), my credit card (got over that, too, but I’m still paying off the balance), I love my credit union.
Comment from Joseph Sangl
Time December 11, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I used Bank of America for my checking/bill-paying account. Everything else is stored in on-line savings accounts that pay decent interest.
The credit union is a nice choice, but mine is not competitive on interest rates without reducing the liquidity of my money (CDs!).
Comment from Caz*
Time December 12, 2007 at 2:08 am
When i started my new job – at a bank – it is required one opens an account to have your salary paid into. Since I don’t pay any transaction charges and the processes are so user friendly, i am now moving all my accounts over.
If i compare, the other bank is ripping me off anyway.
If I was not forced to open an account, i would have probably stayed with the bank that over charges on transaction charges…..
Comment from Traciatim
Time December 10, 2007 at 4:58 pm
That’s kind of interesting. I bank where I do because one bank made me so mad I moved all my accounts to a place close to the school I went to. Now it just happens to be near the house I purchased. Other than this I see no reason to stay.
I did open an account at a ‘no fee’ mostly online bank, but I never transferred everything over. It’s probably inactive by now.
I guess I bank there still because they haven’t ticked me off enough to leave. It’s kind of sad really when you think about it. I think I should start shopping for a better place. I am being charged 12.95 a month, just to have them make money off my money.