Help me bank?

December 23, 2018 12:09 PM

I have a checking account with Simple, and I am thrilled with it. But as far as I can tell, Simple doesn't allow for multiple accounts. So I need another somewhere to open a separate checking account. I also need a savings account.

My credit is in the negative numbers. I neither want nor need a brick and mortar location. Of course, I want the lowest fees and highest interest rates on savings. I also need it to be as simple (no pun intended) as possible.

I'm planning to set up Wave for financial tracking, so any kind of integration with that is fabulous.

What do you use? What do you love about it? What do you wish it did that it doesn't? Help?

posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess to Work & Money (15 answers total)

Charles schwab: no brick and mortar, free atms everywhere(refunds fees) no fees.
posted by sandmanwv at 12:13 PM on December 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

Mostly following silently (I work on UI research for a regional bank) but if I can ask a couple of clarifying questions that might help narrow down suggestions -- do you do most of your online banking on the web or on a mobile app (or on the web on a mobile device)? And how do you do most of your paying -- do you pay bills directly online, with checks, mostly reimburse roommates, use cash often...hopefully I'm not making this more complicated. This topic is very dear to my heart and let's be honest -- unusually fascinating to me.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:13 PM on December 23, 2018

I've heard good things about Ally and Capital One in addition to Schwab, but I don't have personal experience with them.

Also, if you qualify for USAA, they are another virtual bank whose customer support I have found to be A+. (Note: does not apply for mortgage stuff, I've heard horror stories.)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:15 PM on December 23, 2018

USAA banking is available to everyone, not just military. I’ve been banking with them for 25 years and have no complaints.
posted by valeries at 1:46 PM on December 23, 2018

valeries, USAA banking is great, but not open to all; I think that ended in 2013, and your accounts may have been grandfathered in?
Per USAA: Membership is open to those who serve and their eligible family members. We welcome you to join USAA if you are: Active military, former military, an eligible family member, or a cadet or midshipman.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:18 PM on December 23, 2018

Oh wow, thanks for the correction and sorry for the misinformation!
posted by valeries at 3:21 PM on December 23, 2018

Anecdata re USAA: I was able to get an account through my stepparent (who married my parent after I was already a legal adult), whose qualifying service member relative was a parent who died in the 50's. So take a hard look at your family, you may find a way to qualify via grandparents, or someone else.

I have never tried them for banking though.
posted by vignettist at 3:32 PM on December 23, 2018

Been with Ally for over a decade now. Can heartily recommend. No fees, decent interest rates on savings (and a small interest rate, which isn't nothing, on checking). Easy to use.
posted by General Malaise at 3:53 PM on December 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

I've had accounts (checking & savings) with Capital One for many years & have no complaints.
posted by belladonna at 4:36 PM on December 23, 2018

Oh - what I like about Capital One: better interest rates than my local banks, it's easy to set up multiple savings accounts so you can set up specific ones for things like "insurance payments" or "emergency fund"
posted by belladonna at 4:40 PM on December 23, 2018

Response by poster: clarifying questions that might help narrow down suggestions -- do you do most of your online banking on the web or on a mobile app (or on the web on a mobile device)? And how do you do most of your paying -- do you pay bills directly online, with checks, mostly reimburse roommates, use cash often

I do most of my online banking on via website, but occasionally on a mobile app on my Galaxy S5. I pay bills directly online or via automatic debit. I haven't used checks in years. Most roommate reimbursing (and such) will be through my Simple account or PayPal. I use cash maybe once a year. Maybe.
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 5:18 PM on December 23, 2018

ally. capital one recently completely devastated their website banking experience while trying to make it achieve parity with their mobile site. like, bad enough that it kicked me over to ally ... which turns out to have a better website, a better app, free checks, and better rates.
posted by annabear at 5:38 PM on December 23, 2018

when i asked a similar question sometime in the last year, the resounding answer was ally. i opened an account that day and haven't had any problems. and you can have multiple accounts.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:42 AM on December 26, 2018

Ally is fantastic and as others have said upthread about other banks - refunds ATM fees up to $10 per month in that rare case where you do need cash. I have set up/removed secondary accounts as needed throughout the years. We have been loyal Ally fans for 5 years.
posted by getawaysticks at 2:47 PM on January 1, 2019

Ally is great. It's easy to open multiple checking or savings accounts and move money between them. Customer service is good, both the app and the website work well. We do use cash, but are always reimbursed for all ATM fees. Certainly better savings interest rates than anything else we looked at. Also does car loans and mortgages if that becomes a need in the future.
posted by donnagirl at 11:01 AM on January 8, 2019