Schwab checking as primary account?

[CreditInspired]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for all the replies. While I do have a schwab branch near me it seems they aren’t super common. I may just end up switching to DCU since their co-ops and ATMs are virtually everywhere

---

I just opened a savings acct at DCU and was pleasantly surprised to find out about the co-ops everywhere. 

[Anonymous]

Is it a Schwab branch that offers banking services? Or just brokerage customer service?

A lot of discount brokerage branches don't accept deposits.

---

I can't speak for every branch in the country, but the one closest to me does not do banking transactions. (They have an "ATM" running StreetSmart Edge, not giving cash haha)

[Namaste7]

If 90% of more of your transactions are electronic (DD, ebill / billpay, and debit and CC purchaser), you can easily replace a national or regional bank account with a cash management account from one of the investment banks.

If you expect to deposit cash frequently or may receive cash in lump sums throughout the year, you could convert the cash to money order and deposit. Alternatively, you may choose to pair the investment account with an account at a credit union, community or regional bank. The ancillary benefit to this pairing is that you may be eligible for favorable rates on car loans, personal loan products and/or mortgages by establishing (or keeping) a relationship with a credit union, community or regional bank.

[Anonymous]

We use Schwab as primary checking for many years. It works great, photo deposit, plus free postage paid envelopes for a few strange checks that the photo won't capture, absolutely free ATM access. And all the other good things. We still have a zombie account with our old regional bank. With just a little money in it. If it is fee free you might keep your CU acct for cash deposits if you need that feature. But it has been at least a year or two since we visited the little bank.

[Green456]

I will never do Schwab. They opened my account then closed it 1-2 weeks later. I wouldnt care much if they denied me up front. However opening an accunt then closing witout any warning is unacceptable. I looked up duckduckgo and found multiple other people with similar issues. Sometimes they have a reason and sometimes they call it "buisness decision."

If you going with Schwab for their ATM access then consider:

Alliant - refunds $20 in fees per month

BECU - refunds $6 in fees per month

Chase - refunds all ATM fees with Saphire checking or Private Client

[Anonymous]

I'm currently using a Schwab checking account as my main account, I was using Ally, but Schwab offers a higher interest yield + free ATM usage worldwide (0.4% vs 0.1% on checking). As with any online bank, I would suggest trying to get a no-fee bank/credit union account for "local" business (like cash deposits if you need).

Otherwise, my experience has been rather good. The HP didn't bother me much, as I only plan to get one more CC before gardening and they'll fall off in a couple years. I also wanted to try my hand at investing (which of course, the brokerage account is the main thing, checking is an 'addon'), and open a Roth IRA (my company liquidated all their 401Ks about 15 years ago and no longer offers them), their selection of no-fee mutual funds is pretty nice. They are the first, and only bank that has actually called me randomly to just check in on me, make sure everything was going good, see if there was absolutely any questions they could answer for me, and in general be there for me. Currently I use Schwab as my main checking, Ally as my savings, and US Bank as my brick and mortor for deposits (since I can deposit checks/cash at the ATMs, and it's free with my Cash+). I use Google Pay to immediately shuffle my deposits out of my US Bank account into my Schwab account.

Edit: Also to add onto what @Green456 said, Ally reimburses up to $10/mo in foreign ATM fees, and they use the Allpoint network.

[Anonymous]

I went the other direction.  For years I only used Fidelity for all my banking.  Debit card refunded ATM fees, so cost was a non-issue.  Cash deposits were tough since there were no local branches.

I added Credit Unions to the mix and eventually changed my paycheck direct deposit to one of them.  The reason I wanted to do this is because I was not investing enough.  I was using my investment accounts more as day to day checking accounts and neglecting the investing part.  Having to make a conscious effort to transfer funds into Fidelity to invest is better for me.  Psychology.