When Your Bank Merges, Sometimes It’s Best To Cash In Yourself
When I moved to my current location, I changed banks. My new bank (formerly Union Trust) is across the street from my work, people there knew my name after I came in only twice, and they offered free online banking. It was one of those perfect relationships.
Of course, perfection never lasts. My dream bank has recently merged as more and more banks are tending to do. The new bank (Union Trust, A Division Of Camden National) will now charge me for online banking and laid off a bunch of people who probably knew my name. I’m getting out before my heart is broken… and before I get charged $4 a month for online banking, a service that in my opinion should be free.
I’ve tried to keep my banking local. It seems like a good thing to do to ensure local jobs but as even the small banks become bigger, it makes me wonder if I should go bigger too. Main Street Ellsworth is changing, and I’ll need to change, too.
I’ve heard great things about online banks and a confirmation came yesterday from Kiplinger’s backing up other statements I’ve heard from friends who have gone online. They are paying higher interest rates on checking and savings accounts (some as high as 6%) in addition to offering customers free ATM usage, free online banking, and free checks.
Of course, there is a local bank that many people I know use (Bangor Savings) that has no ATM fees and free online banking.
So the dilemma is to go local or go online. In any case, I need to switch banks again, which is such a pain.
If you have a love or hate relationship with your bank, do tell! Also how do you feel about online banks versus local ones?
Picture from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellsworth,_Maine
I try to bank local when ever I can. It seems to be a trend that local banks eventually get “gobbled up” by bigger banks. My current local bank has 7 branches. When I lived in upstate NY, My local bank had three branches (and 4 ATMs).
I bank at a local mega bank (which is where I work). But I also belong to a credit union. The c.u. expanded their criteria to join so all I needed was to live in the city where it’s located.
Yes, I’m thinking I should have one foot in the door locally at least. I filled out at application for a Bangor Savings account yesterday. Thank you both for your feedback!
Nicole, I have been using a totally virtual bank for 9 years now. At that time there were only a few options. I went with First Internet Bank and have never been unhappy. They rebate ATM fees if you don’t use one too often each month. They many times are near the top of the list in the Wall Street Journal or in Kiplinger’s for savings rates. They also pay a decent rate for checking accounts. They have very few fees for their services. I still keep an account with my old credit union for mainly getting cash. Credit unions are great for low cost banking services.