c/banking-and-payments-community

0

sarah229•23h ago

TIL my credit union's ATM network saved me $12 in fees during a road trip

I was driving through Boise last weekend and needed cash. I usually just hit any ATM, but a local at the gas station told me my credit union is part of some shared network. I checked the app and found a fee-free machine two blocks away. That $12 I didn't lose made me rethink how I pick ATMs entirely. Has anyone else stumbled into a fee saving trick like that?

7

hall.nora•1d ago

My buddy Carlos swore Venmo was safer than my credit union card

Carlos from work kept telling me to use Venmo for everything because "the bank has your back, bro." So I paid my $850 rent through Venmo last month and the payment got stuck in limbo for 6 days. Landlord almost evicted me and my credit union had to reverse the whole thing. Anyone else have a friend give trash payment advice that backfired big time?

6

mason847•2d ago

Debate: Apple Pay vs physical card for everyday spending - what do you guys prefer?

I've been going back and forth on this for the last few months. On one hand, Apple Pay is fast and I don't have to pull out my wallet, but I've had it fail on me twice at the same gas station near my office in Minneapolis because their terminal was old. My physical debit card always works but I hate fumbling around when there's a line behind me. Plus I feel like I spend MORE when I use my phone because I don't see the card leave my hand. What do you guys think is the safer or smarter option for daily purchases? Has anyone else run into terminals that just won't take contactless payments?

27

diana_black22•3d ago

Coworker convinced me contactless is safer than chip after showing me the numbers

I always thought chip was more secure because you have to physically insert the card. My coworker Mike pulled up a report last Tuesday showing how skimmers at gas stations are almost always on the chip reader slot. Contactless payments use a different signal that changes every time, so even if someone grabs it, it's useless. He showed me a $14k fraud loss at our branch from a chip skimmer and zero from contactless. Has anyone else seen less fraud since switching to tap?

7

reese_anderson43•3d ago

Appreciation post: A local credit union vs. my big bank for a car loan last month

I needed $15k for a used truck from a guy in Tulsa. My big bank offered 8.2% over 60 months. I walked into a credit union on a whim and they gave me 5.8% in 15 minutes. Has anyone else seen that big a gap between big banks and local credit unions for auto loans?

21

the_finley•3d ago

Hit $10,000 in credit card rewards last month and it still feels weird

I've been tracking my cash back and travel points for about five years now, never really expecting to see a big number. Last month my spreadsheet showed I crossed the $10,000 mark total, mostly from a couple of business trips and everyday spending. Has anyone else been surprised by how much they've earned over time, and did you do anything special with the rewards?

13

alex_king•4d ago

Hot take: Digital wallet vs physical card for daily spend in Chicago

I went all in on Apple Pay for 3 months and ditched my debit card, but got stuck when the reader was down at a crowded food truck last week. Anyone else hit a wall going fully digital?

2

terryb11•8d ago

Just realized my bank transfer took 5 business days for no reason

I was paying a contractor $2,300 for some basement work last month and he said he got the money 5 days after I sent it. I use a big national bank and he uses a local credit union, so I figured that was normal. But then my buddy at work said his bank does same day transfers for free. I called my bank and they said the delay was just their standard processing for external accounts. It took me 45 minutes on hold to get that answer. Has anyone else dealt with a bank that drags its feet on transfers for no real reason?

21

andrew854•9d ago

Old cashier at PNC showed me something about digital wallets

She was like 70 and rang up my coffee with Apple Pay before I even pulled out my card, said she learned it to keep kids from waiting on their parents. Now I actually use tap-to-pay instead of swiping, anyone else have a teller change your habit like that?

25

sanchez.mary•12d ago

Unpopular opinion: paying $15 a month for overdraft protection is a total scam

My bank kept pushing their overdraft protection plan on me, saying it would save me from fees. I finally signed up six months ago and it cost me $15 every month like clockwork. Then I got hit with a $35 overdraft fee anyway because of some fine print about a 'direct deposit exception' they never told me about. So I paid $90 total over those months plus the fee, and I still had a declined payment show up. I called them up and asked what exactly I was paying for if it didn't stop the fee, and the rep couldn't give me a straight answer. I canceled it right then and now I just keep a $50 buffer in my checking account instead. Has anyone else gotten burned by these bank add-on services that sound good but do nothing?

2

cameronb52•13d ago

Had a talk with my credit union manager that flipped my view on P2P payments

I used to think Zelle and Venmo were basically the same thing, just different apps. But last week my credit union manager in Phoenix explained how Zelle is actually built into the banking network, not sitting outside it like Venmo. She said Venmo holds your money in their own pool before moving it, which means if something goes wrong you're stuck dealing with their support team not your bank. Zelle goes straight from account to account in minutes with no middleman holding funds. That hit me because I lost $200 last year on a Venmo transfer that got flagged and took 3 weeks to sort out. Has anyone else had way better luck with Zelle for real transactions?

12

ericb66•14d ago

Unpopular take: I let a neobank handle my rent payments and got burned on a late fee dispute

I switched my rent autopay to a neobank in Denver thinking it'd be faster than my credit union, but the money sat in pending for 3 extra days and hit my landlord late. The support chat blamed the ACH network and basically told me tough luck, so I ate a $45 late fee. Has anyone actually gotten a neobank to reverse a fee when the delay was clearly on their end?

10

dakotacraig•14d ago

Found a hack to avoid ATM fees by using a credit union network in a random gas station

I was stuck in downtown Denver last month with no cash and a $3.50 surcharge warning on every ATM, so I walked into a Shell station and used their credit union terminal through the Co-op Network and it only cost me 50 cents, has anyone else stumbled on a weird fee-free spot like that?

16

aaron708•16d ago

My uncle's $10 bill advice actually worked at the bank drive-thru

My uncle used to say always hand the teller a $10 bill with your deposit slip even if you're not making a cash deposit. I thought he was nuts but tried it last month at a Chase in Phoenix. The teller stopped and actually double-checked my deposit amount instead of just rushing through. Has anyone else tried something weird like that to get better service?

20

rosek44•19d ago

Overheard at the coffee shop - bank told them 2FA texts were optional

I was waiting for my order and heard someone say their bank told them two factor texts were optional for online banking. The customer said they just turned it off because it was annoying. When did banks start leaving it up to customers to decide on basic security features like that?

22

andrew854•19d ago

Just saw a local coffee shop refuse a $100 bill for a $3 drink

I was at Brew and Grind in Springfield this morning and the cashier told a customer they don't take large bills because they got burned on counterfeits twice last month, and now I'm wondering how many other small businesses are doing the same thing and if it's worth the hassle.

4

oliviahenderson•19d ago

Went back and forth between mobile check deposit and the ATM for years but finally just started going inside the branch

Tried depositing a $450 check through the drive-thru ATM last Tuesday and it ate the envelope without giving me a receipt, so the teller had to spend 20 minutes tracking it down, has anyone else just given up on self-service banking?

18

hayden_rivera•20d ago

Old banker told me to always keep a physical log of transactions and I laughed...

My uncle retired from Wells Fargo in Charlotte and told me to write down every check and debit in a paper ledger no matter what. I thought he was ancient and stuck in his ways, so I just relied on the bank app. Last month the app glitched for three days and I overdrew my account by $140 because I didn't know what cleared. He was right about having a backup. Who else still uses paper or does everyone just trust the digital stuff?

5

irisg57•24d ago

Best and worst single day at my credit union teller line last Thursday

I had one person thank me for helping with a fraudulent charge and then the next guy screamed at me for a 50-cent fee on his account. Has anyone else had a shift that flipped from hero to villain in minutes?

1

janab82•24d ago

Finally got my bank to reverse a $35 overdraft fee after a 15-minute call

I'm honestly shocked they agreed to waive it since I've used that excuse twice this year already, anyone else get lucky with fee reversals from Chase or another big bank?

10

diana_king•24d ago

Am I the only one who misses the old check clearing process?

I was thinking today about how back in the early 2000s, I used to deposit a check at my local branch in Cleveland and it would take a full 3 business days to clear. Now with mobile deposit and instant verification, it hits my account in under 24 hours. But honestly, that waiting period forced me to actually track my spending and keep a buffer in my checking account. Now everything is so instant that I've overdrafted twice last month because Amazon charged me before my paycheck even settled. There was a kind of discipline to the old way, you know? Anyone else feel like faster payments actually made managing money harder?

16

gavinp44•26d ago

Found a weird trick with my bank's mobile deposit that saved me 20 minutes

I was stuck in line at the drive-through in Portland last week and realized I could stack two checks by taking a photo of them side by side under the app. It worked on the first try for both amounts. Has anyone else gotten away with a lazy shortcut like that?

4

lucas_perez•27d ago

My mobile deposit failed at 2am in a Denver laundromat

I was sitting in a 24-hour laundromat at 2am last Thursday trying to deposit a $400 check from a client through my bank's app... it failed three times with no error code. Turns out the app needed a software update I’d ignored for months, and the low light from the fluorescent bulbs kept throwing off the image capture. How do you handle deposits when technology or environment just won't cooperate?

10

keithharris•27d ago

I tried Zelle for a rent payment and got burned

Sent $1,200 to my landlord in Chicago through Zelle last month like I always do, but it went to the wrong account because I mistyped one digit. Zelle told me tough luck, no fraud protection since I authorized the transaction. Learned real quick that Zelle is great for splitting dinner but not for big payments without triple checking. Has anyone else had a Zelle screw up that cost them real money?

27

the_finley•28d ago

The ATM at my local bodega straight up asked for a $3.50 fee just to check my balance

Walked into the corner store on 7th Ave yesterday to grab cash for a slice, and the machine wanted to charge me nearly $4 just to see how much I had. I get the convenience markup in NYC, but that's more than the pizza itself.