Banks?

[hollyking]

hollyqueen and I are thinking about changing banks. To straighten out our accounts with our current bank we would have to close them and open new ones in Washington. If we have to go through all that hassle why not look at what other banks can offer. We're looking for the following features:

1. Free checking
2. Free online access that supports more than one user on a joint account
3. Free bill pay - The big problem we have with our current bank is that when we make payments they don't show in the pending or complete transactions. This means that we lose track of what has and hasn't been paid yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions for banks or credit unions? I rarely go into a bank so something that's just online is good for us.

Comments

[damiana-swan.livejournal.com]

BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) is now available for anyone to join. They don't give *great* interest on their savings accounts, but overall I've had good luck with them. You should be able to open accounts at the in-store bank at the Safeway near you (on Redmond Way right by 520), and you can use any credit union ATM for free once you have an account set up.

Another one that might be a possibility for you is First Tech Credit Union; they're open to employees of most tech companies. They have fabulous online service, but unless your credit rating is incredible the services they make available to you may not be worthwhile. There's one in Bella Botega, right by the Irish pub.

[loree.livejournal.com]

We have single and joint accounts with both Washington Mutual (http://www.wamu.com/) and BECU (http://www.becu.com). WaMu offers all the above. I'm pretty sure BECU does too, but I've never used their bill pay service, so I can't say how good/useful it is.

[qijm.livejournal.com]

I'm a member of SMCU, and am not particularly happy with their services. In particular, the bill pay has that same "hole" in it that you describe. I hear nothing but good things about BECU.

[runnerwolf.livejournal.com]

I've been with Qualstar for quite a while. I have their billpay system set up to do all of my regular payments.

[neuro42.livejournal.com]

WaMu sucks. WSECU charges for billpay. BofA has free billpay but it sucks ass (for example, it takes 3 days to add a new payee, which you have to do before you can send them money).

I've never yet found a good option -- I (mis)use my Schwab account -- so I'll be interested in what you find.

[ragnorokt.livejournal.com]

I use Bank of Borg...I mean Bank of America. Free bill pay, they do this thing where they roll up your cash card purchases to the next buck and throw that to a savings account, easier to track usage, and they are everywhere (resistance is futile). The only reason I have gone into a bank in the last couple of years was to deposit a bunch of quarters (about $150 worth).

Of course my Grandmother and Uncle hate them with a passion that most people reserve for either Hillary Clinton or George Bush (depending on political persuasion).

[hollyking.livejournal.com]

I hate them too because they are the ones who've screwed up our accounts. What do you mean that moving from Oregon to Washington means I have to close all my accounts and open new ones?