davis_square | (no subject)

Hello all,

I've looked through the "banking" tag and don't see anything that specifically addresses this, so I'll go ahead and ask: I'm currently with Wainwirght and I like a lot of things about them, but I depend upon a lot of online features that they just don't have, which unfortunately has me considering changing banks. I'd consider switching to a bank that had all of the following:

Free billpay that consistently deducts money when the check is cut, not when it is cashed

Online statements going back indefinitely (or at least more than a month or two)

No charge for transferring between multiple checking accounts

A decent online banking interface

A branch and ATM somewhere within 5ish miles of the Davis/Porter sq area

Wainwright meets, at least arguably, the last three requirements, but not the first two as far as I've been able to tell.
Does anyone know a bank that meets all these criteria and that they've been happy with in terms of customer service and all that? One that still has the progressive hippie-fu of wainwright would be nice, if such exists.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For a good compromise between online banking and local banking, you might try our local online bank, SalemFiveDirect (http://www.salemfivedirect.com). I've been using them for about six months now. They're sort of my "ATM account" so I haven't used the bill pay much, but it does work the way you want it to. You get about 3-3.5% interest on your balance, can make deposits at local ATMs (SUM network (http://www.sum-atm.com) & NYCE network (http://www.nyce.net/atm/locator.jsp)) or by mail, get $15 in ATM fees refunded every month, and a one-time $25 bonus for setting up direct deposit. Plus, if for some reason you really need a branch with humans, there's one downtown. The only big drawback is that they don't have a EFT / ACH system for making transfers between banks online. But you can make those transfers using the ACH facility of the other bank you're transferring the cash to/from. Well, that and they don't seem to offer any referral bonus like ING does. ;-)

Also, check out bankdeals.blogspot.com (http://bankdeals.blogspot.com) for all sorts of reviews and information on banks w/ good deals, some of which are online, nationwide, or local to NE (They recently featured Brookline Bank (http://www.brooklinebank.com), where I do most of my bill pay. I only don't recommend BB b/c you get crap interest, and until recently needed $5k minimum deposit every day of the month to avoid fees.)

You might want to consider a Credit Union, too. Their online banking is usually less sophisticated, but they're also less likely to try and screw you over/generate horror stories.