Best way to transfer money to DCU?

[jamie123]

Has anybody else noticed how difficult some banks and credit unions are making it to move money to other institutions? I personally bank with Regions Bank and they have completely eliminated ACH transfers. Why is that?

I am helping my daughter with her credit so she opened an account with DCU. I want her to get an SSL once her savings account ages a bit. I see that DCU doesn't offer ACH transfers. What is the easiest method to transfer money to a DCU savings account and from a DCU savings account?

[SouthJamaica]

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@jamie123 wrote:

Has anybody else noticed how difficult some banks and credit unions are making it to move money to other institutions? I personally bank with Regions Bank and they have completely eliminated ACH transfers. Why is that?

I am helping my daughter with her credit so she opened an account with DCU. I want her to get an SSL once her savings account ages a bit. I see that DCU doesn't offer ACH transfers. What is the easiest method to transfer money to a DCU savings account and from a DCU savings account?

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1. You can always "push" the transfer from the external account.

2. You can "pull" it through DCU's "Cash Edge" link, which is their code name for external transfers.

But apropos your comment on credit union ACH transfers generally, I was dismayed to learn that DCU charges a fee for outbound "Cash Edge" ACH transfers.

[pipeguy]

DCU uses a "photo image" check deposit option where you write a check and just send a scan - it's credited quickly. I've only used this option once, but it worked just fine.  https://www.dcu.org/videos/online-check-deposit-video.html

I typically just use a push or pull transfer which takes 3 business days but has no "fee" to transfer funds to/from DCU, but if you are in hurry the photo/image option works. 

[jamie123]

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@pipeguy wrote:

DCU uses a "photo image" check deposit option where you write a check and just send a scan - it's credited quickly. I've only used this option once, but it worked just fine.  https://www.dcu.org/videos/online-check-deposit-video.html

I typically just use a push or pull transfer which takes 3 business days but has no "fee" to transfer funds to/from DCU, but if you are in hurry the photo/image option works. 

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Thanks.

My daughter banks with PNC and they don't have ACH transfers either so I don't know how else you could do a push or pull transfer? She is planning on doing the check by photo technique but had to order checks because she never uses checks and does everything else electronically.

I mean really...Why are banks making it difficult to move our money? Who uses paper checks anymore? I thought they were going the same way as phone books!

[pipeguy]

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@jamie123 wrote:

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@pipeguy wrote:

DCU uses a "photo image" check deposit option where you write a check and just send a scan - it's credited quickly. I've only used this option once, but it worked just fine.  https://www.dcu.org/videos/online-check-deposit-video.html

I typically just use a push or pull transfer which takes 3 business days but has no "fee" to transfer funds to/from DCU, but if you are in hurry the photo/image option works. 

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Thanks.

My daughter banks with PNC and they don't have ACH transfers either so I don't know how else you could do a push or pull transfer? She is planning on doing the check by photo technique but had to order checks because she never uses checks and does everything else electronically.

I mean really...Why are banks making it difficult to move our money? Who uses paper checks anymore? I thought they were going the same way as phone books!

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Funny thing about that is "we" tend to think within our own world or experiences. A lot of people, especially older, use paper checks and a lot of these same folks have no interest in a debit card.

In my line of work, we deal with a lot of advocacy groups all pushing for their issue or cause. The reason I mention this is after several one-on-one sit-downs with USPS folks and their ongoing revenue situation (which many blame on the decline of first-class mail) it seems that over 80% of USA households still get all their credit card and other statements such as utilities, etc. in paper copies by USPS mail. 

I assume that would be reversed for active members of this forum where 80% would use electronic statements and payment online. I have paper checks for 4 of my 5 bank accounts, very rarely use them, but I have them.

Slightly off message for this thread, but back to the subject matter, I have had no problem transferring money online between DCU, NFCU, BB&T, Capital One and CFCU. Some require a one-time verification process such as a small deposit sent by the bank/CU which is then pulled back which you have to verify and it takes a couple of days (BB&T recently), but I've noticed most (growing number of) banks/CU's are now offering the  photo/image deposit option.

[DaveInAZ]

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@jamie123 wrote:

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My daughter banks with PNC and they don't have ACH transfers either so I don't know how else you could do a push or pull transfer? She is planning on doing the check by photo technique but had to order checks because she never uses checks and does everything else electronically.

I mean really...Why are banks making it difficult to move our money? Who uses paper checks anymore? I thought they were going the same way as phone books!

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Well, ACH is slow, usually takes 3 days or so, and there are several instant money transfer services like Zelle, Venmo, etc. DCU uses People Pay, I don't know if PNC uses that. If there isn't a DCU branch nearby she can use Shared Branch at another convenient credit union that supports it: https://co-opcreditunions.org/locator/?ref=co-opsharedbranch.org&sc=1

I'm in Arizona and DCU is only in MA & NH, but I can make a DCU cash deposit or withdrawal at a credit union here in AZ.

And a bit more complicated but I also use Google Wallet with debit cards to instantly transfer funds with no fee. You need 2 Google accounts, account1 loaded with the debit card of the account you want to take money from, and account2 loaded with the debit card of the account you want they money to go to.

[DaveInAZ]

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@pipeguy wrote:

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Funny thing about that is "we" tend to think within our own world or experiences. A lot of people, especially older, use paper checks and a lot of these same folks have no interest in a debit card.

In my line of work, we deal with a lot of advocacy groups all pushing for their issue or cause. The reason I mention this is after several one-on-one sit-downs with USPS folks and their ongoing revenue situation (which many blame on the decline of first-class mail) it seems that over 80% of USA households still get all their credit card and other statements such as utilities, etc. in paper copies by USPS mail. 

I assume that would be reversed for active members of this forum where 80% would use electronic statements and payment online. I have paper checks for 4 of my 5 bank accounts, very rarely use them, but I have them.

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Yeah, I'm in southern Arizona and we have a lot of older retirees, it's actually one of my pet peeves to have to wait in the checkout line waiting for a sweet little old lady to dig out her checkbook and take 5 minutes to write out a check. I'm no spring chicken myself, in my 60s, but I haven't written a check in years.

I'm not doubting you but I find that hard to believe that 80% get paper statements by mail. I lived in Vegas 1999-2005 in a house with mailbox by the front door. I traveled often on business and didn't want banking/credit statements sitting in my mailbox for anyone to grab, so as soon as they started offering electronic statements I signed up for them. Now I live in a rural area with a USPS locked group mailbox, but last year we had a mail theft gang in the area and they even destroyed our group mailbox by ripping off the back with a crow bar, fortunately I had nothing for them to steal. And last week I had a statement from Chase in my mailbox, as I had just closed my Chase bank accounts I ripped it open without checking the name & address. When I saw it was a CC statement with a big balance & alot of transactions I momentarily panicked, thinking someone had opened an account in my name. But then I saw the name & address: my address is 168 E XXX street and the statement belonged to someone else at 168 E Another Street a few miles away. Cost me a stamp & envelop to mail it to them with an explanation & apology. Our mail carrier isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

[pipeguy]

The 80% number was given by representatives from the "Postmasters" and echoed by rural carriers and yes it was a higher number than I expected.  Below are two interesting links both are from 2016 and one quotes a 54% paper statement for mostly older consumers:

https://www.tsys.com/Assets/TSYS/downloads/rs_2016-us-consumer-payment-study.pdf
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/paper-statements-poll.php

Like I said in my previous post, "we" on My Fico and especially the under 35-40-year-old group, in general, think differently than the population as a whole and also consider the "older" group meaning 60+ tend to prefer the status-quo of paper records and checks. 

[Cookiegrabber]

Echoing the Mobile Deposit feature for DCU, but I'm not sure if you can deposit straight to savings as I always deposit to checking.

DCU also does have ACH in the form of "Cash Edge". While outbound from DCU is $5, inbound to DCU is free.

Also, Paypal can withdraw and deposit into bank accounts, and I'll bet your daughter has a Paypal account.

She has to add both PNC and DCU onto her list of banks, transfer funds from PNC to her Paypal balance, then out from Paypal to DCU, all via the Paypal interface. There's no fee but it'll take a while as it's 2 transfers instead of 1.

[SouthJamaica]

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@pipeguy wrote:

DCU uses a "photo image" check deposit option where you write a check and just send a scan - it's credited quickly. I've only used this option once, but it worked just fine.  https://www.dcu.org/videos/online-check-deposit-video.html

I typically just use a push or pull transfer which takes 3 business days but has no "fee" to transfer funds to/from DCU, but if you are in hurry the photo/image option works. 

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Please advise how you would make outbound transfer without incurring a fee.