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So customers have less than 2 months to find new banking partners, migrate their data, inform their partners about banking changes, etc... This is one reason w

by csomar 4y ago

So customers have less than 2 months to find new banking partners, migrate their data, inform their partners about banking changes, etc... This is one reason why I'm avoiding all fintech/startup/neo banks in the future. My most solid experience was with a top 5 US bank. They have a shitty customer service and a plethora of offers; but my direct deposits go faster, I don't get pestered over 5 figures amount going in/out because AML and they were able to accommodate some particular needs (that no neo fintech will do, since they lump all customers into one basket). If anyone wants to bank in the future (both for personal/business), here are the banks I'd suggest: Citi, Chase, BoA and WellsFargo.

mjthrowaway1 4y ago
Chase is superior to WF and BoA both in tech and wait times in branch. I’ve lived in a handful of cities and used them all concurrently for years. If you’re doing any kind of business you want to be at US Bank, Farmers & Merchants, East West Bank, etc. They are better about loan products.
batuhanicoz 4y ago
Does any of those traditional banks support remotely opening accounts for U.S. companies with non-U.S. owners (so without an SSN, only with EIN)?
- formerkrogemp 4y ago
  You'll want to open a business bank account with them if you have an EIN. You might need trust or estate services depending upon the nature of your financial service needs.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Some (or all) may have branches in your country. But they may not be free but they can probably get it setup.
- csomar 4y ago
  I had one remote experience but here is are the caveats: 1. Needed a valid US visa (a B1/B2 will do), 2. Needed a US phone number and 3. Needed a real US-address (not necessarily yours but not a PO box).
ROTMetro 4y ago
When I moved across state lines Wells Fargo required me to go back and close my account in my previous state and open a new one in my new state. Left and never went bank. When BoA moved from San Fran to the South and started doing questionable practices it was time to move. US Bank has been amazing, and my immigrant friends all say US Bank has overcome hurdles/issues that Chase, BoA, and WellsFargo refused to help with (often just refusing to take them as customers). When my mother died, US Bank was amazing with protecting her estate from legal BS, to the point that they ended up going to court and paying out of their pocket to do what was right (and this was not a large estate to profit them). Seriously never seen a bank (or large corporation) so willing to see/accommodate individuals and their situations instead of just providing cookie cutter services that if you didn't fit you were excluded. At this cynical point in society I didn't think a bank could impress me, but they have.
- swman 4y ago
  I’ve used us bank for an auto loan and they were super helpful when I sold it. I honestly get anxiety and social lock up when dealing with financial stuff (it’s all so much bullshit after the basic accounting is done) and they were really chill about the whole thing
- csomar 4y ago
  US Bank is the 8th largest bank. I'm surprised with your experience with Wells Fargo since they didn't require that for my sister. Maybe they changed rules or it was a particular state? How good is the online/mobile app access for US Bank?
  - ROTMetro 4y ago
    It was because of the state we moved to, but we only had to do it for our Wells Fargo account. Not a mobile app power user but it does everything expected (deposit checks from phone, balance info), and I get large transfers in (trust and business) through Zelle and send to my son through Zelle instantly in the app.
- hadlock 4y ago
  I have never ever heard of a bank requiring you to close your account and reopen at another branch. Are there additional details?
TylerE 4y ago
Any typical user choosing a big corporate bank over a credit union for a personal account is insane.
- bklyn11201 4y ago
  1. Zelle: all of the big banks have it. Credit unions are slower to adopt. 2. Mobile apps: big bank mobile apps are pretty great these days. 3. Credit cards: Bank of America rebates 2.625% for top customers. 4. Bill pay: the big bank bill pay integrations with vendors and ebills is better
  - jnwatson 4y ago
    Zelle should be avoided for almost every transaction. There is no fraud protection.
    - vxNsr 4y ago
      Not really, there is as much fraud protection as ACH. If you’re will to make use of direct deposits and ACH transfers, you can use Zelle. Just don’t expect to be handled with kid gloves.
      - FireBeyond 4y ago
        No, there really isn't. And the banks themselves say so. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/business/payments-fraud-zelle-banks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/business/payments-fraud-z... > Zelle’s immediacy has also made it a favorite of fraudsters. Other types of bank transfers or transactions involving payment cards typically take at least a day to clear. But once crooks scare or trick victims into handing over money via Zelle, they can siphon away thousands of dollars in seconds. There’s no way for customers — and in many cases, the banks themselves — to retrieve the money. > The banks are aware of the widespread fraud on Zelle. When Mr. Faunce called Wells Fargo to report the crime, the customer service representative told him, “A lot of people are getting scammed on Zelle this way.” Even Zelle says so: > Zelle® does not offer a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle® - for example, if you make a purchase using Zelle®, but you do not receive the item or the item is not as described or as you expected. Source: https://www.zellepay.com/faq/im-unsure-about-using-zelle-pay-someone-i-dont-know-what-should-i-do https://www.zellepay.com/faq/im-unsure-about-using-zelle-pay...
corytheboyd 4y ago
Not exactly the same but I did taxes one year on Credit Karma. A few years pass and I'm buying a house, lenders need tax returns. Credit Karma tax was sold off, support gets back to me after two days saying they can't help me at all getting the old return filed with them. Fuck this, never again. Turns out it was easy to get the return from the IRS directly, but this turned me off from introducing "hip" tech into my financial life ever again.
- vxNsr 4y ago
  Odd. I was able to download my old returns from the cash.app taxes website. It wasn’t super simple but it was easy enough.
  - corytheboyd 4y ago
    I had disabled my account, which I conveniently forgot to mention before (I actually forgot, wasn't trying to be dramatic).
- enonevets 4y ago
  It is good practice to save PDF copies of your tax returns so this way you don’t need to request them. I would recommend making a habit of this moving forward in general.
  - corytheboyd 4y ago
    Oh you best believe I have copies of everything now, on my own server hah. Lesson learned :)
tazjin 4y ago
Fully agree about the neo bank stuff. When I picked a bank for my current company people were recommending me Tinkoff (local neo-bank that's entirely online, but has fancy apps etc.). It was tempting due to how shiny all their stuff is, but I ended up going with Alfabank (traditional "brick&mortar" bank). A couple months down the line I had a bureaucratic hiccup with some tax office documents and it was SO MUCH nicer to be able to walk into a bank office and speak to a person and get it all sorted out on the spot, instead of arguing with some online live chat agent to be escalated to the right place. When I lived in the UK I used Monzo there (another online-only, app-only (!) neo bank). This seemed like a good idea at the time - until I started needing to do things that traditional banks are much better at (such as international transfers). What really hit me here is that I at some point considered doing a smartphone detox, and realised that my smartphone was the only way to fully access my personal account there. Bad idea, never again ... (There's some symmetry between this and ordering products online for me, btw. If I can go to a physical store and look at a thing before buying I will prefer this over ordering online and potentially dealing with returns, delivery issues etc. almost 100% of the time)

by csomar 4y ago

mjthrowaway1 4y ago

Chase is superior to WF and BoA both in tech and wait times in branch. I’ve lived in a handful of cities and used them all concurrently for years. If you’re doing any kind of business you want to be at US Bank, Farmers & Merchants, East West Bank, etc. They are better about loan products.

batuhanicoz 4y ago

Does any of those traditional banks support remotely opening accounts for U.S. companies with non-U.S. owners (so without an SSN, only with EIN)?

formerkrogemp 4y ago
You'll want to open a business bank account with them if you have an EIN. You might need trust or estate services depending upon the nature of your financial service needs.
bombcar 4y ago
Some (or all) may have branches in your country. But they may not be free but they can probably get it setup.
csomar 4y ago
I had one remote experience but here is are the caveats: 1. Needed a valid US visa (a B1/B2 will do), 2. Needed a US phone number and 3. Needed a real US-address (not necessarily yours but not a PO box).

ROTMetro 4y ago

When I moved across state lines Wells Fargo required me to go back and close my account in my previous state and open a new one in my new state. Left and never went bank. When BoA moved from San Fran to the South and started doing questionable practices it was time to move. US Bank has been amazing, and my immigrant friends all say US Bank has overcome hurdles/issues that Chase, BoA, and WellsFargo refused to help with (often just refusing to take them as customers). When my mother died, US Bank was amazing with protecting her estate from legal BS, to the point that they ended up going to court and paying out of their pocket to do what was right (and this was not a large estate to profit them). Seriously never seen a bank (or large corporation) so willing to see/accommodate individuals and their situations instead of just providing cookie cutter services that if you didn't fit you were excluded. At this cynical point in society I didn't think a bank could impress me, but they have.

swman 4y ago
I’ve used us bank for an auto loan and they were super helpful when I sold it. I honestly get anxiety and social lock up when dealing with financial stuff (it’s all so much bullshit after the basic accounting is done) and they were really chill about the whole thing
csomar 4y ago
US Bank is the 8th largest bank. I'm surprised with your experience with Wells Fargo since they didn't require that for my sister. Maybe they changed rules or it was a particular state? How good is the online/mobile app access for US Bank?
- ROTMetro 4y ago
  It was because of the state we moved to, but we only had to do it for our Wells Fargo account. Not a mobile app power user but it does everything expected (deposit checks from phone, balance info), and I get large transfers in (trust and business) through Zelle and send to my son through Zelle instantly in the app.
hadlock 4y ago
I have never ever heard of a bank requiring you to close your account and reopen at another branch. Are there additional details?

TylerE 4y ago

Any typical user choosing a big corporate bank over a credit union for a personal account is insane.

bklyn11201 4y ago
1. Zelle: all of the big banks have it. Credit unions are slower to adopt. 2. Mobile apps: big bank mobile apps are pretty great these days. 3. Credit cards: Bank of America rebates 2.625% for top customers. 4. Bill pay: the big bank bill pay integrations with vendors and ebills is better
- jnwatson 4y ago
  Zelle should be avoided for almost every transaction. There is no fraud protection.
  - vxNsr 4y ago
    Not really, there is as much fraud protection as ACH. If you’re will to make use of direct deposits and ACH transfers, you can use Zelle. Just don’t expect to be handled with kid gloves.
    - FireBeyond 4y ago
      No, there really isn't. And the banks themselves say so. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/business/payments-fraud-zelle-banks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/business/payments-fraud-z... > Zelle’s immediacy has also made it a favorite of fraudsters. Other types of bank transfers or transactions involving payment cards typically take at least a day to clear. But once crooks scare or trick victims into handing over money via Zelle, they can siphon away thousands of dollars in seconds. There’s no way for customers — and in many cases, the banks themselves — to retrieve the money. > The banks are aware of the widespread fraud on Zelle. When Mr. Faunce called Wells Fargo to report the crime, the customer service representative told him, “A lot of people are getting scammed on Zelle this way.” Even Zelle says so: > Zelle® does not offer a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle® - for example, if you make a purchase using Zelle®, but you do not receive the item or the item is not as described or as you expected. Source: https://www.zellepay.com/faq/im-unsure-about-using-zelle-pay-someone-i-dont-know-what-should-i-do https://www.zellepay.com/faq/im-unsure-about-using-zelle-pay...

corytheboyd 4y ago

Not exactly the same but I did taxes one year on Credit Karma. A few years pass and I'm buying a house, lenders need tax returns. Credit Karma tax was sold off, support gets back to me after two days saying they can't help me at all getting the old return filed with them. Fuck this, never again. Turns out it was easy to get the return from the IRS directly, but this turned me off from introducing "hip" tech into my financial life ever again.

vxNsr 4y ago
Odd. I was able to download my old returns from the cash.app taxes website. It wasn’t super simple but it was easy enough.
- corytheboyd 4y ago
  I had disabled my account, which I conveniently forgot to mention before (I actually forgot, wasn't trying to be dramatic).
enonevets 4y ago
It is good practice to save PDF copies of your tax returns so this way you don’t need to request them. I would recommend making a habit of this moving forward in general.
- corytheboyd 4y ago
  Oh you best believe I have copies of everything now, on my own server hah. Lesson learned :)

tazjin 4y ago

Fully agree about the neo bank stuff. When I picked a bank for my current company people were recommending me Tinkoff (local neo-bank that's entirely online, but has fancy apps etc.). It was tempting due to how shiny all their stuff is, but I ended up going with Alfabank (traditional "brick&mortar" bank). A couple months down the line I had a bureaucratic hiccup with some tax office documents and it was SO MUCH nicer to be able to walk into a bank office and speak to a person and get it all sorted out on the spot, instead of arguing with some online live chat agent to be escalated to the right place. When I lived in the UK I used Monzo there (another online-only, app-only (!) neo bank). This seemed like a good idea at the time - until I started needing to do things that traditional banks are much better at (such as international transfers). What really hit me here is that I at some point considered doing a smartphone detox, and realised that my smartphone was the only way to fully access my personal account there. Bad idea, never again ... (There's some symmetry between this and ordering products online for me, btw. If I can go to a physical store and look at a thing before buying I will prefer this over ordering online and potentially dealing with returns, delivery issues etc. almost 100% of the time)