Advice on Banking (with some specifics)

[readytorock]

Hey guys. I've been with my credit union for 10 years now, but they refuse to work with Quicken to make my debit card or checking account transactions automatically downloadable. Not enough demand, I guess.

I'm the kind of person who uses his debit card for EVERYTHING. And entering the three or four small transactions I have every day manually into Quicken has finally worn on me.

I'd like to open an online checking and savings accounts. I'm hoping you guys could give me advice on which one would be best for my situation. I need something that will give me a debit card, allow automatic, scheduled bill pay, and allow Quicken to grab all of my transactions so I'm no longer manually entering them.

Of course, a good interest rate would be nice too on the savings and/or checking, but not sure I'd have enough to meet the minimum balance for an interest-bearing checking account (typical balance is above $5k but below $10k in checking).

Any recommendations would be really appreciated.

[buildmybudget]

You'll probably need to do some investigating in order to find the right fit. Do you want a local bank, or do you want a higher interest rate? You'll also need to determine which institution offers the products that you're looking for.

[nattynitin]

Unbelievable indeed. This is the first time ever i hearing about this mishap..

[markusk]

I looked into this a few years ago....

Most major banks will allow Quicken downloads (Bank of America, Chase, etc), but will charge you a monthly fee. I tried negotiating with them in terms of keeping a large minimum balance, direct deposit, getting a mortgage with them. No dice.

One bank customer service rep initially told me they did not charge for Quicken downloads, then later found out he was wrong....you have to be very specific in want you want. I wanted FREE quicken downloads. If you are willing to pay for this service, it should be no problem.

I found only one bank who had this free service: PNC Bank. I've been using them for over 6 years. I love it. Very simple. I don't even use PNC's scheduled bill pay. I do it all via Quicken, which then tells my PNC checking account what to do.

Hope this helps.