Kudos to Bank of America

[disneysteve]

I constantly hear people bashing BOA. I've banked with them for years with no trouble and on the couple of rare occasions when something happened, they quickly resolved it. So I wanted to share a positive comment about BOA.

I've posted before about the new (well not so new at this point) deposit image ATMs. These are the ones that no longer use envelopes for deposits. Instead you actually insert your checks and/or cash, the machine scans everything and you get a receipt with images of the actual checks or an exact count of how much cash was inserted. I understand why this is more secure but it is also a lot slower than just sticking in an envelope, so I had really grown to dislike using the ATMs which, in my mind, are supposed to be a convenience and they aren't anymore.

Enter mobile banking. A few months ago, I started trying out their iPhone app which lets you make check deposits right from your phone. Great concept and even with my old iPhone 3G, it worked well. The one problem I encountered was the $5,000 monthly limit on mobile deposits. Fortunately for me, my monthly deposits exceed that number by a fair amount so that meant I still had to go to the super-slow ATMs at least a couple of times each month.

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail survey from BOA to evaluate the mobile banking app. I gave it high ratings on every area except one - the monthly limit. I wrote in that they needed to raise that.

I just logged in to deposit a couple of checks and was pleased to discover that my monthly limit had been raised from 5K to 10K. That's perfect and more than enough for my needs. So I can now do almost all of my banking by phone. I won't ever need to go to the ATM again (unless I want cash which is very rare).

[siggy_freud]

If only those who had their homes illegally foreclosed upon were as easily pleased .

[kork13]

A monthly limit? that's strange... USAA has had the same type of option for a number of years now (deposit via scanner or smartphone), and they've always had a $5000 daily limit on deposits (separately, also a $5000 daily limit on online withdrawals as well). I know it's somewhat apples and oranges to compare two totally different banks, but that's a rather significant disparity. Still, I love everything about the smartphone deposits, so as long as it meets your needs (and honestly, there are only rare instances where $5k-$10k would not suffice), it's really no big deal.

[thesimplemoneyblog]

Mobile deposits have been great! It makes banking so much easier, so you don't have to go to a location to deposit the checks (plus you don't have to worry if the branch is closed. It's hard for me to make it to a branch during working hours). Also, another great feature I have noticed is that the checks are deposited significantly faster (and often even same-day on weekends) than if I had taken it into an actual location. I use this for a couple different banks, so each one has a few different nuances of how much you can deposit each day or month, but I've never run into an issue before.

[sweetlady2k]

I also bank with BOA and love it. My deposits always go in faster than my old bank (wachovia/wells fargo now) I actually like the ATMs but usually only deposit under 1000 so never ran into a long wait. Only issue I ever have is sometimes it wont take bills. This is usually no big deal I just put it in my wallet to use towards groceries but it is a problem if its a big bill and I need it to go in right then. I also use their keep the change savings for my Christmas fund. I just add to it and it worked great for my needs.

[bjl584]

Yikes.

Bank of America 4th-Quarter Net Plunges 63% on Charges, Lower Revenue

[Bades]

I understand why this is more secure but it is also a lot slower than just sticking in an envelope

A lot slower? How do you mean? I bank with Chase (they've had this option for quite some time now) and I hit deposit and the light flashes to insert cash and checks and it takes it maybe 5 seconds to process 3 checks. I can then print out a receipt with the check images too and that doesn't take any longer than a regular receipt to print out.

Just curious as to why you think it's slower than having to get an envelope and write out all the details?

[disneysteve]

A lot slower? How do you mean? I bank with Chase (they've had this option for quite some time now) and I hit deposit and the light flashes to insert cash and checks and it takes it maybe 5 seconds to process 3 checks. I can then print out a receipt with the check images too and that doesn't take any longer than a regular receipt to print out.

Just curious as to why you think it's slower than having to get an envelope and write out all the details?

If your machines process 3 checks in 5 seconds, they are phenomenally faster than BOA's machines. I'd estimate these machines take about 20 seconds per check, so if I put in 10 checks, I'm looking at standing there for 3-5 minutes total including swiping my card, entering my pin, and printing the 2-foot-long receipt. Plus, periodically, the machine will spit out a check it can't read, something that couldn't happen when it was in an envelope, and I end up having to go inside to a teller to deposit it which is a royal pain in the butt.

If there were others waiting behind me for the machine, I got in the habit of just putting in my one or two largest checks and leaving so I wouldn't hold up everyone else.

Now with the app, the problem is nearly eliminated. The one exception is one company I work for prints their checks weird and neither the ATM nor the app will accept them. I have to take them to a teller. I've complained but with no results thus far.

[Bades]

Ah gotcha - I think the most I've deposited was 2 or 3 checks and about 8 $20 bills. All of it probably went in and processed in 20 some seconds.

I know that Chase has always been the forerunner of these new technologies, image scanning ATMS, Quick Pay, and the take a picture with your phone has been out for probably 3 years now.

[disneysteve]

Ah gotcha - I think the most I've deposited was 2 or 3 checks and about 8 $20 bills. All of it probably went in and processed in 20 some seconds.

These machines can definitely not do 2 or 3 checks in 20 seconds. Not even close.