Best bank for travel/full time RV liver

January 3, 2022 10:46 AM

I need to move our accounts from a Californian based Credit Union because they don't have the kind of online flexibility that I need while living across the US and travelling. I need some ideas for the best US-based bank in terms of web interface and mobile app please, as I will rarely (if ever) go to a branch.

Primary requirements as follows:

1: Able to pay in cheques entirely online (through the app)
2: Wire transfers from the website/app
3: Easy online bill paying/transfer of money/account management
4: Set up 2 x personal accounts and one joint and easily link them for payments between.
5: Cheap working cost (account fees and transaction fees)

Secondary:
- Able to access ATM across the country (rarely used but may be useful)

Of no interest:
- Don't need debit card/credit card/chequebook really, so benefits related to them are not that interesting

- We don't have huge savings (or, um, much of any) so interests rates are of less interest than cost of doing business (fees etc).

So - ease of use and some actual technology would be great. My old English bank account did all this stuff 20 years ago better than the current US banks, from what I can tell, but what is the least clunky of the current bunch, please?

posted by Brockles to Work & Money (8 answers total)

As far as wide physical access and good-to-reasonable online access, Wells Fargo is my choice. I keep an account with them in case I need to do something in-person at a branch even though I prefer SoFi online for my every day banking needs.

My partner uses Truist which is likely extremely similar in terms of what it's offering from a brick and mortar bank point of view.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:11 AM on January 3, 2022

I have accounts with both USAA and Ally, and they're both great at these things (I don't do a ton of wire transfers, so not super sure about that), but all the other stuff I do tons of. I think the USAA mobile app is slightly better than Ally's but there are eligibility requirements for USAA and Ally is still great.
posted by jeoc at 12:04 PM on January 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am from the UK like you, and continually frustrated/staggered/baffled by banking here. Right now I have accounts with Schwab and Ally, and they are the least bad of a terrible bunch (I've also had Citi, Wells Fargo and Chase).

Both of them do everything on your list well, but if your list really does cover everything you ever do, I would go with Ally.

Schwab has branches which means they have some features I need about once every 2-3 years, e.g. deposit cash, pay in checks drawn on UK accounts. The Ally website is less bad than Schwab if all you do is banking (in fact it's probably better than the only UK bank I have access too right now, Halifax). Schwab's website/service is highly integrated with their brokerage (the bank is essentially a loss leader for that), which might be useful but otherwise makes the web UX a bit complicated. They both pick up the phone very quickly. They both reimburse ATM fees.
posted by caek at 12:38 PM on January 3, 2022

USAA is only for active duty US military and their dependents. I do bank with them but also use Chase, who meets all your criteria.
posted by ananci at 2:18 PM on January 3, 2022

My California-based credit union is part of the CO-OP Network, which has their own app, and is accessible at 7-11's. (The whole network, not just the credit union). This was great while my CU was slow to modernize, I was able to mobile deposit and everything. You might check to see if you can do what you need with the CO-OP app.
posted by ApathyGirl at 3:21 PM on January 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Another vote for Chase.
posted by Bron at 7:03 AM on January 4, 2022

UNFCU does all of the above, is a credit union and is pretty damn capitalized since it's the bank for the entire UN staff, so it won't be swallowed by other credit unions.

The website and app are simple and Just Work.

It doesn't play well currently with Zelle, Venmo and perhaps other banking apps, so if you want that integration now, it's a nope.

If you aren't directly affiliated with the UN, You can join UNFCU if you become a member of the UNA-USA
posted by lalochezia at 7:03 AM on January 6, 2022

Response by poster: Ally proved difficult to open an account with (possibly my green card status) so I have tried Chase. We will see how they go. Thanks for the help.
posted by Brockles at 1:33 PM on February 2, 2022