Banks, Banks, Everywhere

[EmberMae]

*Double post from thread merge...*

[EmberMae]

It seems odd to me that in the age of direct deposit, atms, and electronic banking, there are more bricks and mortor banks than ever, popping up everywhere. every shopping center has at least one bank, sometimes two. I always joke that my fiance's company (Chase) is going to go out of business because they have so many freaking branches. There are two within one mile of each other on the SAME ROAD. It doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand how all these banks can possibly be profitable. Who even goes inside a bank any more? The last time I went inside one was when I opened my joint acount with my fiance over a year ago. I have no occasion to go inside a bank. I get money from the ATM. My check is direct deposited. If I get a gift or some other check, I deposit it through the ATM. (The bank is closed by the time I get off work anyway). Hell, my savings account is totally online because it pays a lot more interest than a bricks-and-mortor bank, and I just transfer funds electronically online. Given this, it doesn't make sense to me why they keep building so many branches of the same banks right near each other.

Note for poll: do not count the times you go to work if you work in a bank branch!

[weary]

tons of ppl still go inside the bank. i never do, but i know plenty of others who don't ever go online. i can think of 3 friends off the top of my head who don't even know how to do online banking. my mother checks her balance online all the time, but still writes paper checks and goes to the credit union. my grandmother? she doesn't even know the diff b/w an ATM and a check/debit card. trying to explain that to her was like trying to explain quantam physics to a 2-year-old. she never does anything w/ her $$ BUT brick & mortar banking.

[cache]

It is a perpetual growth industry. As long as the economy is growing, people & businesses use of banks grows.

Plus, I don't know if you know or your husband has mentioned, but the banking industry has pretty much the highest profit margin of any industry in the US - in good times and in bad. Being profitable has never been a problem.

[weary]

It is a perpetual growth industry. As long as the economy is growing, people & businesses use of banks grows.

Plus, I don't know if you know or your husband has mentioned, but the banking industry has pretty much the highest profit margin of any industry in the US - in good times and in bad. Being profitable has never been a problem.

yep, ca-ching cache! :huge:

$ makes the world go 'round...
(well, at least the U.S.)

[WorkInProgress]

I have not been inside a bank probably in years, and the last time I can recall being in one, I was accompanying a friend who needed to run a quick errand and I didn't want to wait in the car.

[Winter Storm]

I'm old school. I ALWAYS go inside the bank. Not only that, but I always have to.

I usually have extra checks I need to deposit (sides gigs have no direct deposit), I usually need a certain type of change (need quarters for laundry, fives, tens, etc.) and I happen to hate ATMs. My bank has no drive-thru and they charge for online banking (which I refuse to pay for).

Lately I've had to go to the bank every week.

[WorkInProgress]

they charge for online banking (which I refuse to pay for).
:eek: They make you pay for it?! I wouldn't pay for it either.

Whenever I have a check to deposit, I send it and the deposit slip through the mail. It's never been a problem. But I also don't receive checks for large amounts.

[Winter Storm]

:eek: They make you pay for it?! I wouldn't pay for it either.

Whenever I have a check to deposit, I send it and the deposit slip through the mail. It's never been a problem. But I also don't receive checks for large amounts.

I normally need my checks deposited right away to pay off bills (like travel expenses for work) and I can't wait.

I've been meaning to switch banks for years to get free online banking, just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe in '07.

[Ciderhillnh]

There are a thousand other reasons to go inside a bank.

They notarize, meet with prospective investors, also meet with people who are investing through the bank, home loans, safety deposit boxes…….

These are all the reasons Ive gone inside the bank in the past year. Had nothing to do with touching any money in my accounts.
So the street that has the 2 banks, its probably because just one bank had too many people going to it and the other brank opened up to take some of the burden and be convenient for those who lived on that end of the street.

I go at least 2 or 4 times a year for safety deposit box stuff…..not only at my parents bank but then when I visit my grandmother in another country.

[Ciderhillnh]

There are a thousand other reasons to go inside a bank.

They notarize, meet with prospective investors, also meet with people who are investing through the bank, home loans, safety deposit boxes…….

These are all the reasons Ive gone inside the bank in the past year. Had nothing to do with touching any money in my accounts.
So the street that has the 2 banks, its probably because just one bank had too many people going to it and the other brank opened up to take some of the burden and be convenient for those who lived on that end of the street.

I go at least 2 or 4 times a year for safety deposit box stuff…..not only at my parents bank but then when I visit my grandmother in another country.

[wordsmith]

I'm old school, and in a small town. We totally go in banks, here.

One of the tellers at my bank (who is married to the guy who was my first kiss when I was 12, to give you an idea of the small-towniness) gives me shit because I'm the ONLY PERSON who deposits my paycheck via the ATM. She's like "Why don't you come in and do it, we have to empty the thing JUST for you."

I'm not kidding.

[cache]

I was in my bank last week to deposit my $16 SanDisk rebate check....the money is rollin in I tell ya! :huge:

[pisces2473]

I'm old school, and in a small town. We totally go in banks, here.

One of the tellers at my bank (who is married to the guy who was my first kiss when I was 12, to give you an idea of the small-towniness) gives me shit because I'm the ONLY PERSON who deposits my paycheck via the ATM. She's like "Why don't you come in and do it, we have to empty the thing JUST for you."

I'm not kidding.
Ha Jess, I'd tell her to have later hours then, JUST for you.

[MollyMe]

The new branches are smaller. I like more, smaller banks over a few large banks.

[wordsmith]

Hah, she hates me. She's jealous of 12-year old me.

[wordsmith]

I don't deal in large, conglomerate banks if I can help it. Small, local, only, now that I can.

When I lived in Chicago, I pretty much had to do BankOne (now Chase), and I disliked it. When it was BankOne, they charged you if you DIDN'T do online/ATM banking. To talk to a teller, there was a FEE.

[SmilesSoSweet]

I only go inside my bank a few times a year. That's because I don't have a local branch. I have a military credit union account and I love it.

I do most of my stuff online or through the mail. When I'm back home I'll make a trip to the credit union and take care of stuff that I need to in person.

Now if I really need to go to the credit union in person, but I'm not making a trip back home, then the next closest one is in Yuma, AZ, on a Marine base. It's a good three hour drive.

I can withdraw money fee free at ATM's at any other credit union or even the ATM machines inside any 7-eleven stores. So I really don't have to worry about not having cash on me if I need cash. There's a couple nearby credit unions and a 7-eleven right across the street from me.

If I have to deposit any checks (like mileage reimbursement checks that aren't directly deposited) I just go to a UPS store and can mail them out from there for free with a guarantee that it'll be a next business day deposit.

[pisces2473]

Wilma, why don't you have another bank account where you live locally, too?

[analogman]

ATMs only give out 20's. Before I go on trips, I go inside banks to get some hundred dollar bills.

I also go inside to access my safe deposit box.

[WorkInProgress]

Wilma, why don't you have another bank account where you live locally, too?

I don't have a local bank either. I haven't needed one in years.

[pisces2473]

Wow....I love my bank.

[SmilesSoSweet]

Wilma, why don't you have another bank account where you live locally, too?

I don't see the need for it. I have direct deposit with my credit union. My two major credit cards are with them too.

I've looked into it and the credit unions out here aren't that great. I'm not a fan of regular banks like Washington Mutual or Bank of America.

So I'm okay with it. Besides the less access I have to my money, the less I am to spend it. :)

[labrat2111]

I rarely go into my bank although it is conveniently just down the street. I have direct deposit and I get cash from the ATM and pay bills with checks. The only time I really have to go in is to deposit special rebate checks or take out 10 or 20 dollars in quarters for laundry.

[SmilesSoSweet]

The only time I really have to go in is to deposit special rebate checks or take out 10 or 20 dollars in quarters for laundry.

Laundry quarters is probably the only pain in the ass I have by not having a local branch by me.

But every time I go to the grocery store I try and get a few dollars worth of quarters here and there. My apartment complex also has quarters at the office, so I really don't worry about it too much. And when I do go home, I'll stop by my credit union and pick up a roll of quarters. So really it's not really a major pain in the ass.

[EmberMae]

I'm sorry, i don't know how this got posted twice, can you merge it with the other or something?

[Bman120]

At the banks where I have accts at I do my best to stay out of the banking centers. The long lines are frustrating when I can do most of it over the phone or at the ATM.

[PenforPrez]

I'm old school. I ALWAYS go inside the bank. Not only that, but I always have to.

I usually have extra checks I need to deposit (sides gigs have no direct deposit), I usually need a certain type of change (need quarters for laundry, fives, tens, etc.) and I happen to hate ATMs. My bank has no drive-thru and they charge for online banking (which I refuse to pay for).

Lately I've had to go to the bank every week.

That's me. I don't like to do Direct Deposit because I have a certain way I carve up my paycheck, and it's a lot easier to do with an old-fashioned deposit slip. I don't have a credit card, so ATMs are out.

I have noticed that about more banks. I have my account with a small local bank. Just 10 years ago, there was only two branches, which was the way it had been for 90 years. Now they have six, and they're going to open up another. :rolleyes:

Paul

[SpaceMonkey]

I direct deposit my paycheck, but I get some other checks too (utility payments from my roommates, for example) that I always deposit in person inside the bank. I also walk my rent check into my landlord's bank to deposit it into her account.

[lostindc]

You can't beat Chevy Chase Banks free coin counting machines. Try doing that online.

I do most banking online. One of the banks I use has only one branch 1500 miles away. They do refund ATM fees and provide postage paid envelopes for deposits - along with much better interest rates.