Wells Fargo sucks again

[Metspitzer]

I saw a TV commercial where you could use your smart phone to deposit a check instantly. You just send in a photo of the check to the bank and they process it.

Wells Fargo doesn't have it. To be fair, not many banks do. I have my check direct deposited and also have bills direct debit. I do however get quarterly dividend checks from some stock. I also just got a refund check from an overpayment when I closed my ATT phone. Being able to just take a photo of a check to have it processed would be a nice feature.

[Peter]

If there's a credit union you qualify to join, it may provide the remote deposit capability you're looking for. Additionally, credit union rates and terms are almost always more consumer friendly than banks.

I've been banking with a credit union since 1980 and have had a uniformly excellent experience. My interest bearing checking account pays .45% interest with unlimited free checks. I've got unlimited direct deposit and automatic bill pay set up for every account that allows it. For overseas use, the VISA debit card linked to the account charges only a 1% international transaction fee and all ATM use, domestic and foreign, at any ATM in the world that accepts VISA is free of fees. In addition to detailed monthly printed statements, I have full capability on-line banking capabilities. By the way, I can also scan or photograph an endorsed check and e-mail it to them for deposit from anywhere in the world. You can't touch those features with a bank checking account. Peter

P.S. Except for being a customer with deposits, I have no affiliation whatever and no investment in any credit union.

[rlz]

could use your smart phone to deposit

The problem with Credit Unions is that they want to act like a bank, but they're not regulated or taxed like a bank.

[Metspitzer]

You know, as far as I can tell, emailing a check would be the same thing, as they are relying on you not to try to cash the check some where else before it clears.

Someone on the Net said that a smart phone provided an extra layer when it came to IDing the person that sends the check. This seems unnecessary.

[Peter]

could use your smart phone to deposit

No, they're regulated like credit unions. I see that as a benefit, not a problem. Perhaps that's why credit unions can run circles around banks when it comes to the most common services desired by non-business depositors. You should know that credit union deposits are insured by the NCUA at the same limits as bank deposits are insured by the FDIC.

[Robert Macy]

Wasn't Wells Fargo about the ONLY bank that didn't get into the real estate bubble collapse?

From personal experience, I once got a 'signature' loan from them [very large in today's dollars] and sure enough about three years into it, the economy tanked and I had difficulty repaying on their schedule. By instantly communicating with them we worked out a deal. then the economy came back and I paid off the loan way ahead of even the original schedule. A few weeks later I got a $1000+ refund check from them where they actually went through and calculated determining that I had overpaid. So, they sent me a refund.

In view of them not getting into all those scams AND the personal treatment I received from them I would use them right now if I didn't have such good service form a credit Union I joined in 1972 who provides interest, free checking accounts and very personal services - like arrange a bank wire or cashier's check by telephone call.

[willshak]

Metspitzer wrote the following on 10/25/2012 6:56 PM (ET):

[dadiOH]

Lets see...two dozen accounts, large check, instant retirement :)

[Pat]

As long as you consider prison an acceptable retirement :)

[George]

And four days later the FBI shows up at your door. Remember the banks can be pirates and we reward them by bailing them out and let them continue business as usual. It doesn't work for you and me though.

[Mark Lloyd]

What keeps you from then taking the check somewhere else and cashing it?

[snip]

[Peter]

My credit union requires a different endorsement when e-depositing a check versus mailing it in, putting it into an ATM, or presenting it at a teller's cage. They want the words, "for e-deposit only" as the endorsement. I assume that an e-deposited check will be almost immediately credited to your account (even if the funds may not be available for prescribed lengths of time if the check is out of state or exceeds certain dollar limits) and entered into the automated clearing house system.

It would be hard (and should be impossible) to cash a check in person that was already endorsed as "for e-deposit only". If someone was asleep at the switch and did cash it for you, it would surely bounce as a duplicate deposit when it entered the automated clearing house system. You'd be on the hook for bouncing a check.

[Peter]

Ans: A nationwide electronic system known as the automated clearing house (ACH). Duplicate checks (same routing number, account number and dollar amount) will be rejected (bounce).

[Metspitzer]

Thank you The bank teller I asked yesterday must have been uninformed.

[Metspitzer]

I just called my branch and the girl that answered the phone said that WF doesn't do that yet. Georgia must not be one of the states on the list.

I downloaded the app, but because my hands shake, I missed the logon 3 times in a row. I am going to have to wait a while before I try it again. I did learn that if you rotate the phone 90 degrees, you get a much larger keypad, but I still missed it. :)

The link you posted says.................. When it comes to personal banking, the smartphone can now accomplish most of what a bank teller or an ATM can do, aside from actually dispensing cash (iPhone 6 feature, perhaps?).

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That doesn't seem like it would be hard to implement. (A check, not cash) The phone should be able to print to a printer (wireless) just like a laptop could. I haven't learned much of what the android phone is capable of, but I haven't found a print function. That doesn't mean there isn't one.

Print/fax on a phone would be useful.

[David Kaye]

"Metspitzer" wrote

GIRL? I'm sure you mean WOMAN because Wells doesn't hire underage people to answer their branch phones.

[Kurt Ullman]

AT least to my mind anybody under 20 still qualifies as a girl.

[notbob]

Yeah! Girl!

As in, "girls night out", "girls jes wanna have fun". Or are you one of those pussy-whipped guys that's so freakin' polically correct you carry yer cojones around in a purse?

nb

[George]

>

Here is a snip from the "secure message" I received:

"The service is currently not available in Pennsylvania. Customers who have Mobile Banking will see an icon appear for "Mobile Deposit" in their mobile banking session when the service is available. Once the icon appears, you can select it and get started."

Sometimes alternate keyboards work better. I like swype.

The whole point of a smartphone and similar devices is that you don't need to print stuff. Years ago I would say print stuff out before leaving. Now it is right on the phone.

[George]

Fear of being in jail? The app only allows you to do what businesses have been able to do for years. Previously you needed a built for the purpose scanner to deposit the checks from your desk instead of going to the bank.