Chase Finn vs Wells Fargo Greenhouse?

[Anonymous]

I noticed that both Chase and Wells Fargo now offer online versions of its banking products, and it looks like it is just personal banking accounts right now.  Unclear if they move into business accounts for such products but it seems unlikely.

Is Chase Finn or Wells Fargo Greenhouse the better product of the two?  It seems like a good account to get access to Wells Fargo and Chase’s significant banking network across the country.  Sure, interest rates are lower, but ATM accessibility seems to make it good for deposits, and withdrawls and mobile deposits and it has all the needed features.

I am wondering which of the two is best to have a relationship with or perhaps both.

[Revelate]

Not sure what the benefit is except no need for direct deposit (why wouldn't you do this anyway though?) or otherwise minimums on balances.

Also not sure why anyone would actively seek a relationship with Wells at this point .

Should post what you want out of a relationship with a financial institution really, different ones have different benefits in terms of product mix and relationship banking.

[Anonymous]

Self Employed people who do not have payrolls do not have direct deposit such as myself.  I get income from others as cash or checks and the like and not as direct deposits.  I do not believe in maintaining a minimum balance to keep an account and Chase Finn and Wells Fargo Greenhouse seem like excellent opportunities to get access to these institutions without having to meet minimum balance requirements.  One can get checks mailed out to payees when necessary or do electronic payments for expenses.  Both these accounts are relatively new and allow all the deposited funds to work directly for me rather than being utilized to waive minimim balances.

I have accounts without minimums now but both Chase and Wells Fargo are much larger institutions and one can use local ATM’s to make deposits and withdrawls.  Deciding between the two, one wonders which is better overall.  They seen to have some different states of coverage but the main areas I would use seem to be covered by both.

[19eighty5]

I'm going to echo the sentiments of @Revelate and caution to stay away from Wells Fargo. Re: Chase Finn, if they provide you access to Zelle, I would think that option would make for a complete solution.

[Anonymous]

It looks like Chase shut down branches in certain areas but is adding new branches in markets like Philadelphia where it did not have branches previously.  The online divisons like Chase Finn, and Wells Fargo Greenhouse have lower fees and minimums and are more consumer focused.  Competition in this space seems to be fierce but only the largest firms have ATM networks for cash deposits and check deposits.  Mobile check deposits have restricted deposit limits.  As branch ATM’s have the physical check in hand which is then scanned, I presume there is no limit on this.  

[Revelate]

Chase’s mobile deposit for me is something like 20k per day. I am pretty sure even before my relationship “upgrade” (tongue in cheek commitment re Sapphire Banking) it was still like 10k. That is a lot on a daily basis.

Find me a mobile deposit that is meaningfully limiting as a consumer which is what we are discussing here. Really ATM’s are only clutch if you are still transacting in cash.

I have hit BOFA’s limit for a business account for the volunteer organization I work with a few years back but personal? Nah.

[Anonymous]

Wells Fargo has new management now but remember all the national banks are for profit.  There were individual stories on issues with all the national banks.  Wells Fargo just took it to an extreme with the account fiasco in the past.  

My take on the new online no minimum accounts from big banks like Chase and Wells Fargo is that money isn’t forced into the account to waive minimums making the funds work directly for you, but the banks still profit, just less.  

The big bank advantage means local ATM’s which directly deposit or withdraw cash and provide full banking functionality due to online or mobile banking limitations.  In the case of Wells Fargo Greenhouse, one can even use a bank teller.  My question about which to use isn’t about their past scandals but rather which bank offers more functionality of the accounts and the more competitive product.  Chase has more ATMs available via Finn but full transactions would only be able to be made at Chase ATM’s.  Are Chase ATM’s more sophisticated than Wells Fargo such as the fact they are multi denominational?  And yes ATM deposit limits are important although I heard most banks don’t have the same restrictions for ATM vs mobile or online deposits.  I should be able to deposit 1 million dollars at an ATM without issue due to camera security as well as the physical posession of the check.  I can understand mobile deposit having limits because the check depositor can’t be veified and bank liabilility would be too large.  I do wish Chase and Wells Fargo would have biometric ATM’s but Chase does work with Apple Pay and Wells Fargo does or will as well.  

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:
And yes ATM deposit limits are important although I heard most banks don’t have the same restrictions for ATM vs mobile or online deposits.  I should be able to deposit 1 million dollars at an ATM without issue due to camera security as well as the physical posession of the check.  I can understand mobile deposit having limits because the check depositor can’t be veified and bank liabilility would be too large.  I do wish Chase and Wells Fargo would have biometric ATM’s but Chase does work with Apple Pay and Wells Fargo does or will as well.  

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FYI as far as I know there are no limits for ATM deposits; you should, indeed, be able to deposit a check for $1M if you had the need (the hold would be another matter, of course).

Speaking of holds, that's what separates mobile deposits from ATM deposits for many.  Deposits made at an ATM are held to the same Reg CC rules that govern deposits made with a human teller, but mobile deposits aren't.  That's why occasionally you'll read of complaints where there is a seemingly arbitrary hold on a mobile deposit whereas had the same deposit been made at the ATM (or human teller) Reg CC would have limited the number of days for the hold.

To me, having access to ATM deposits would be the main reason I would be interested in Finn or Greenhouse over a bank that was online only.

TL;DR... if you're depositing a larger-size check and you need to be certain of the funds availability avoid mobile deposit.  Some banks will tell you up-front when the funds will be available, but if you've already endorsed the check 'For Mobile Deposit at XXX Bank Only' you'll likely be out of luck if don't like the terms the mobile app gives you.

Sidenote:  Most of the WF ATMs near where I am all take Apple Pay/Samsung Pay/Google Pay.  The receipt will have the last four digits of your physical card number.

[Anonymous]

Wells Fargo has a lot more locations than Chase in certain areas so I guess Chase Finn vs Wells Fargo Greenhouse choice is dependent upon areas you frequent.  There is lots of competition on Fintech, but in order to stay competitive you still need branches and/or ATM’s you control for cash and large check deposits and its more convenient to open a Wells Fargo or Chase account than multiple smaller accounts with local banks.  I realize Allpoint accepts cash and check deposits now but I am not sure if this is as feature rich as doing it through a large bank with its own in house processing.  

Varo applied for a national charter so its the most interesting online only bank, but it still doesn’t have its own ATM network.  If Varo placed its own ATM’s on a national basis and got placement, then it could become very competitive.  I could see a firm like Varo potentially placing ATM’s in small little vestibules or whatnot or partnering or acquiring smaller banks to further build its network.  

[Anonymous]

A handful of things I don't like about Finn:

1. No paper checks (I write very few -- all of three in 2018 -- but it still remains important, though you can get a cashier's check for $8)
2. No paper statements (Though I imagine most go paperless anyway)
3. Requires opening checking and savings (The latter is useless if your idea is to park less money there than the Chase Total Checking $1.5k to avoid the monthly fee)
4. No joint accounts or beneficiary designations (I plan to make my accounts joint when I get married, this may not matter to everybody though)

I haven't looked at WF Greenhouse, though I don't plan on dealing with them any time soon.