# Financial institutions without a brick & mortar office



## caroln (Aug 27, 2021)

I'm seeing a lot of ads for banks like Ally and Chime which, as far as I know, have no physical offices.  Same for insurance companies like Esurance and Lemonade, and stock brokers like E-Trade.  I don't know if I would ever use any of these type of companies.  It would make me very uneasy to not be able to go to a physical office with "real" people when I needed something done.  I wonder (worst case scenario) how I would have my house repaired if it caught on fire.  What if my computer was destroyed, couldn't find my phone, etc?  Where do you go?  Who do you talk to?  I'm just wondering if anyone else feels this is risky, or am I being an old fuddy duddy?


----------



## OneEyedDiva (Aug 28, 2021)

I remember that Ally was the first financial institution I became aware of before online banking really took off. I never thought to use Ally because I already had bank accounts at other institutions. But fairly recently I read that Ally is very highly rated as online banks go. I understand your concern about being not able to access your account should those circumstances occur, however. Sure hope they don't though.  A friend of mine called me last year and asked me to open an account at a Black bank. I believe she would get rewarded if I did. I did it not only for her but because I had been wanting to support a Black banking institution for a while, just didn't know which one. That's the closest I've come to banking at a bank with no brick and mortar available to me because it's branches are not located anywhere near my area.
I feel the only risk would be if *all *your money was in an online bank account that you suddenly couldn't access for the reasons you gave. Online accounts are also FDIC insured. As far as being a "fuddy duddy"...No, when it comes to finances you have to do what you feel comfortable with.


----------



## Ceege (Aug 28, 2021)

I don't really think that I could trust them.  I've seen signs on store doors stating that they do not accept Chime credit cards.  So, I have to wonder why? 

 In all fairness, even our bricks and mortar banks could close and we would have to hope that their customer service phone numbers are still active.  This is why we should have several different banks to put our money into.


----------



## caroln (Aug 28, 2021)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I remember that Ally was the first financial institution I became aware of before online banking really took off. I never thought to use Ally because I already had bank accounts at other institutions. But fairly recently I read that Ally is very highly rated as online banks go. I understand your concern about being not able to access your account should those circumstances occur, however. Sure hope they don't though.  A friend of mine called me last year and asked me to open account at a Black bank. I believe she would get rewarded if I did. I did it not only for her but because I had been wanting to support a Black banking institution for a while, just didn't know which one. That's the closest I've come to banking at a bank with no brick and mortar available to me because it's branches are not located anywhere near my area.
> I feel the only risk would be if *all *your money was in an online bank account that you suddenly couldn't access for the reasons you gave. Online accounts are also FDIC insured. As far as being a "fuddy duddy"...No, when it comes to finances you have to do what you feel comfortable with.


Yes, I can see using an online bank might work out for a small amount of money kept in an account.  My brick and mortar bank also has all the online tools which I use almost daily for paying bills, etc.    But I still am a little leery of using an insurance or brokerage company that has no office.


----------



## Don M. (Aug 28, 2021)

When it comes to Anything financial....banking, investments, insurance, etc., I much prefer dealing with a Real person, and/or a company that has been in business for decades.  I guess I'm just too Old Fashioned to trust putting my assets into something "online".


----------



## MarciKS (Aug 28, 2021)

I too feel uneasy about this issue. Like the OP I like to know who to contact if I need something. Online you generally have quite a time hunting for contact info & getting through to a live person.


----------



## ManjaroKDE (Aug 28, 2021)

My pension, SS and savings are deposited to an online financial institution, one that has been around since 1946.  Everything is done online.  I can and do buy stocks, CD's, have a savings account that pays competitive rates, credit card (VISA that pays 2% for any charges), debit card that reimburses me for any fees, they manage my 401K (low fee based), have checking with free checks (which I've never needed).   I could make low percentage loans if needed.  There are more services than i could use if wanted and have never sit foot in any building.  

FDIC insured and I've never lost a dime in 12 years.  Now Amazon is a different story.


----------



## ManjaroKDE (Aug 28, 2021)

Next spring I plan to change my routing code and account numbers for the Fed and state tax refunds.  Had been using wife's local branch account but since she's also has access to the online account it makes sense.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Aug 28, 2021)

I have accounts at a local brick and mortar bank but I haven’t been inside of it for over a year.

My investments are with two large brokerage houses that don’t have brick and mortar branches.

My accounts are linked so I can move money among my accounts using the telephone or computer.

My bills and my income are handled automatically.  I have turned off as much paper as possible.

When I need to replenish my cash I go to an in network ATM.

So far no problems.

I do try to be careful in responding to emails, connecting to the websites and answering questions.  I also stay away from public WiFi.

IMO it’s about learning a different way of being careful than the ones we learned growing up.

I made the push to change because I believe that it will be easier for me if I have to stop driving or become dependent on someone else for my care.

If you are comfortable with your current system stick with it.

If you would like to switch then start slowly and gradually make changes that you are comfortable with.

Good luck!


----------



## fmdog44 (Aug 28, 2021)

Interest rates are what drove me to online savings. While all are low now my Wells Fargo bank was paying 0.01% on savings. Absurd!  Once while I was there I was asked to open a savings account to accompany my checking account. I politely declined.


----------



## HoneyNut (Aug 28, 2021)

caroln said:


> What if my computer was destroyed, couldn't find my phone, etc? Where do you go? Who do you talk to?


Online banks have human beings you can talk to on the phone.  Sometimes in the past I've had to scan and send forms to them, haven't had to recently, hope I could use my phone now tho because scanner/printer kind of defunct.
My main banking for decades has been an online bank (tho I think they might have a few brick and mortar locations in some far away state) which I originally chose because of awesome interest rates, but now I only get a pitiful 43 cents per thousand dollars per month. 
I did also have a brick and mortar bank, mostly because of the house mortgage.  When the mortgage was paid off I closed the accounts with that bank, but because I did want a physical location I opened an account with a credit union. 
The only time I really wanted to go to a location was when there was a flood and I was stuck in a hotel and needed quarters to do laundry and didn't know the PIN for my Credit Union debit card, but it was a weekend after bank hours so the bank having a physical location didn't do me any good.
But, eventually it was easy to cash checks using my phone and it turned out that was really the only reason I'd ever go in person. So I closed the physical location accounts and only have the online bank and the investment bank (Fidelity).  I'm not sure yet, but I think when I retire I might close the online bank account and use the investment bank for checking/billpay/etc.  Gosh it makes me feel sad to think of closing the online bank account, I am getting too sentimental about everything as I get older.


----------



## caroln (Aug 28, 2021)

Wow, guess I AM behind the times.  However, I do have direct deposit, auto pay for my supplemental insurance, online bill pay, and I can deposit checks with my phone.  I also use virtual credit card from my credit card company when I make online purchases which is only good for one purchase.  That way no one has access to my real credit card number.  But it's nice to be able to walk in the bank and do transactions with the teller when I want.   Since I've banked there so long I'm always greeted by name and taken care of in such a friendly manner.   I also have a safe deposit box at the bank which, of course, has to be accessed in person.

I still get paper bills for the mortgage and utility bills because if anything happened to me, my tech challenged husband would need them.  He will never understand (or remember) how to pay bills on line!  Maybe being "being behind the times" is the best way for me!


----------



## OneEyedDiva (Aug 28, 2021)

Ceege said:


> I don't really think that I could trust them.  I've seen signs on store doors stating that they do not accept Chime credit cards.  So, I have to wonder why?
> 
> In all fairness, even our bricks and mortar banks could close and we would have to hope that their customer service phone numbers are still active.  This is why we should have several different banks to put our money into.


I found out that a lot of places don't accept American Express either. So I started a new motto for them: "American Express, don't leave home without another card." Costco dropped them a few years back. I had heard that AmEx takes too long to pay and it costs retailers more to accept their cards. Don't know how true that is. Chime may have similar issues.  I certainly agree with your last sentence.


----------



## oldmontana (Aug 29, 2021)

ManjaroKDE said:


> My pension, SS and savings are deposited to an online financial institution, one that has been around since 1946.  Everything is done online.  I can and do buy stocks, CD's, have a savings account that pays competitive rates, credit card (VISA that pays 2% for any charges), debit card that reimburses me for any fees, they manage my 401K (low fee based), have checking with free checks (which I've never needed).   I could make low percentage loans if needed.  There are more services than i could use if wanted and have never sit foot in any building.
> 
> FDIC insured and I've never lost a dime in 12 years.  Now Amazon is a different story.


I use TD Ameritrade and trade on line, I also have checking with them that I seldom use.  They do have brick and mortor branches but the nearest one to me is 200 miles.  I use a local bank for on line bill paying and their ATM fort cash.


----------



## Nathan (Aug 29, 2021)

I like having a brick & mortar office- my credit union has several in the county.   My insurance company(USAA) doesn't appear to have any offices West of the Rockies.  I have considerable assets with American Express, but no physical offices that I know of.


----------

