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Comment by purrgers | Hacker News Reader

Honest question: Which bank do you recommend? Other big banks, online banks, local banks?

I recommend banking with a brokerage whose primary service is the brokerage product. I personally use Schwab. They'll provide banking services in addition to the brokerage services, but where they really make money is in the brokerage side, via net interest on funds from cash sweep, PFOF, running their own ETFs and collecting the management expenses, etc. They care about having good banking services because they want you to use their brokerage services, but don't care about pumping numbers specifically for the banking product, which WF seems to be incentivized to do seeing as they keep doing it despite fines.

For schwab in particular, their app is pretty good and their phone support is excellent - native english speakers who have the power to actually fix problems. I accidentally deposited post-tax money into a pre-tax retirement account an expected it to be a huge PITA to get it fixed, but the support guy fixed it in a single short phone call for me. Also have had great support regarding wiring funds both in and out, e.g. for receiving proceeds of a stock sale from shareworks and paying for a house.

Fidelity. Tax advantaged accounts, taxable accounts, Cash Management Account (checking account replacement). Refunded ATM fees (if cash is your thing), free wires.

Your local credit union. Not-for-profit. Low to zero fees. Why anyone would use a commercial bank I do not understand.

I moved cities 5 times in 8 years. The last thing I wanted to do is try and evaluate a credit union each time.

I look at it now and think about it, but I have to deal with international things and the last thing I want to deal with is trying to get a hold of my bank from ten timezones over.

Most credit unions are in a network with each other so you can use other CU's ATMs and branches. There are a few limitations, generally around large withdrawals, but the nearest actual branch/ATM of my CU is ~250 miles away and I do just fine. I've done both an auto loan and a mortgage with them without ever having to go into a branch.

Thanks to modern banking, you don't need to be in the same city as your credit union.

I've used the same CU for 20 years, the last 8 of which has been 2000 miles away from it.

I banked with two credit unions and both nickel-and-dimed me with ridiculous fees. A coworker of mine has filed suit against the credit union at my current job.

I have banked with a huge commercial bank for the past twenty years and never had any issues. YMMV

My experience is the opposite - Chase nickle and dimed me and made me pay fees if I didn't jump through certain hoops. It made me go back to my credit union.

Yeah I use a local credit union and they are not the worst but they have fees and will hit you with overdraft penalties and whatnot like any bank.

For the record I have not used a credit union for close to 10 years so this may be different now.

But there is something to be said about having an actually usable banking website, modern ATMs, and most importantly some support options during non business hours when something goes wrong.

Also being able to reliably find a branch if you are traveling.

While you can argue that support at a credit union may be better when you can get it, there are real advantages to going with a major bank.

Also as someone else said... the fees, minimum balances, etc were ridiculous.

Also for the record, I only tried one but I really didn't feel like making the jump to another bank if the second one didn't work out well.

> But there is something to be said about having an actually usable banking website, modern ATMs, and most importantly some support options during non business hours when something goes wrong

An example of all of this wrapped up in a credit union in California - School's First Credit Union.

What's great about modern banks/credit-unions is the ability to issue cards that can use payment processors like Mastercard (school's first uses this), making almost every ATM work for you. I was able to make purchases in London without doing anything special.

The account monitoring is also top-notch. I buy gas, driving up to San Francisco and someone buys some shoes in Los Angeles when I had just stopped in San Jose, I get a phone call. I try to purchase more than $X with the card, it won't go through without me allowing it (you can configure your max daily, ofc). Loan rates are great. It goes on and on.

I just don't understand why anyone uses big banks anymore.

Within the last 15 years or so, a bunch of the Credit Unions have 1) modernized their online banking stuff and 2) formed some sort of sharing agreement with regards to physical locations and ATMs. The one that I notice as a little odd is that the alliance that my CU belongs to partnered with the company that supplies ATMs to 7-11 stores. Which is always funny to see when I pull up their ATM map.

Though I get most of my cash through free cashback when I do grocery shopping or whatever.

You really think these kind of things haven't markedly changed in ten years?

I prefer to use large-ish regional banks that cover my state and some territory in nearby states. They’re big enough that service costs are low and offerings are good. But it’s nice to be able to walk into a branch where they’re already familiar with the local economy/industries/markets.

I never understand why people ask questions like this. A lot of people will give you anecdotal responses to this. "I use XYZ and have never had problems".

None of this advice is meaningful or relevant because for every one who has had a good experience, there is going to be someone else who hasn't. It all depends on who responds and isn't a large enough sample size at all. It is about as good as reading reviews on Yelp.

It is generally known that some banks are better than others, and WF is accepted to be on the worse end of the spectrum. So the correct answer in this case is really "any bank except WF".

Until we come up with a solution where you actually control your own funds (or at least it has been put into a DAO, which has its own set of issues), you're always at the whim of whatever bank you choose and even more importantly whatever government you're under, since they can empty your bank account at any time anyway.

Even with Yelp reviews I think my biggest worry is whether or not the reviewer was paid for the review. In this context, it seems reasonable to expect that the anecdotes are at least genuine. Then one is just using their own ability to parse the information in the comments, especially with regard to the specific features that accounts might have and what they’d like to prioritize.

But yeah, a “good enough” bar might be any place that doesn’t have “Wells Fargo” in big red letters on the building (or on their website).

Credit unions and small banks are better, if they can provide the service you need. If they can't, then any large bank that isn't called "Wells Fargo" is a better choice.

Capital one. Best tech for the mobile app, great credit cards (3% back on all food), free ATM all over CVS, Target, 711, etc. Relatively high interest rates (4.3% right now)

I use Schwab and have never had problems

I've been pretty happy with Schwab as well. Free wires and ATM fee refunds if you meet a minimum balance requirement, and their customer service has been solid.

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