Which online bank do you use?

[Mark90]

I'm tired of accumulating 0.3% from my credit union's savings account. I would like to join an online bank and am looking for advice for credible places.
I'm also wondering, do people link their online accounts to a local branch so they can more easily deposit and withdrawal money? Or do you just use the smart phones to deposit checks? How do you deposit cash into an online account? And do you use online banking only for saving or checking too?

[creditcardfree]

The only way to deposit cash online is to get a money order and mail it in. You may be able to scan a money order in, but I would check with your online bank before doing that. All my banks are online, I no longer use a brick and morter bank.

I generally just use cash if I have it rather than deposit it, or I make a payment on my Target Red Card in person at the store with cash.

Most banks paying more interest will be savings accounts which limit the withdrawals each month, or will be reward checking accounts that will have several hoops for you to jump through. These might be X debit card transactions, direct deposit and bill pay. Not all bad, just something to be aware of.

[MonkeyMama]

Ally, Capital One, Smarty Pig come to mind. There are probably a couple of others. Check local banks and credit unions in your area for other deals.

In less recent history I never had a brick and mortar bank - just mailed in deposits and transacted by phone. Internet has since made easier.

Today I do have a local brick and mortar checking account. We funnel all our money into this account, and then just disperse from there. I can initiate transfers into online savings account, using online savings account websites. I have never made any deposits directly to an "online bank". If you can use a scanner or a cell phone for an online bank, it is convenient. My brick and mortar CU does accept phone deposits - have been doing that for ages. Which means the only time I really go to a branch is to put in cash or to take out cash. {The primary reason I opened this account, about 7 years ago??, was because snail mail got very unreliable. In the "cell phone deposit" age it is kind of moot any more}.

Another trick - just become someone's ATM for them, if you have some extra cash. (Exchange the cash for a check that you can deposit). I did that a lot in the past when I had no local bank and was mostly paid in cash.

We transact most our banking business online, but still have to write an ocassional paper check, or deal with cash.

[Petunia 100]

I don't use online banks for checking. I don't have the option of direct deposit, and I don't have a smart phone, so it doesn't seem like a good option for me. Your circumstances could be different, so it may work fine for you.

However, I have been keeping my savings in online banks for about a decade or so. I've had accounts at ING (now Capital One 360), HSBC, Ally, TIAA-Cref, and Barclay's. I'm currently parking my cash at Barclay's. No complaints with any of them.

When you open the savings account, you will "link" it to your primary checking account. Then, you simply transfer money back and forth. It does take up to 3 days, so keep that in mind when deciding how much buffer to keep in your primary bank.

[Mark90]

I don't use online banks for checking. I don't have the option of direct deposit, and I don't have a smart phone, so it doesn't seem like a good option for me. Your circumstances could be different, so it may work fine for you.

However, I have been keeping my savings in online banks for about a decade or so. I've had accounts at ING (now Capital One 360), HSBC, Ally, TIAA-Cref, and Barclay's. I'm currently parking my cash at Barclay's. No complaints with any of them.

When you open the savings account, you will "link" it to your primary checking account. Then, you simply transfer money back and forth. It does take up to 3 days, so keep that in mind when deciding how much buffer to keep in your primary bank.

Thanks. Is it very common to link accounts?

[wjcalderon]

I have a money market savings account with Ally Bank. It's currently paying .85% interest.

Like MonkeyMama, I have a local checking account where I make all my deposits. Then I transfer to Ally by linking it to my checking account.

With the money market account, Ally sent me checks and a check card.
So on the few occasions that I need to pay something from my savings account, I don't have to transfer it back to checking. I can just write a check or use the card.

And yes, it's very common to link accounts.

[bjl584]

I used to have accounts at ING and HSBC.

[feh]

Thanks. Is it very common to link accounts?

Yes, I'm sure it is.

I use Ally for savings/EF. Local CU for checking. EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers) between the two, as stated above.

[kork13]

100% of my banking goes through USAA in some form or fashion -- everything goes there & is parsed out as necessary. USAA is my one & only checking account, and I use Ally for most of my liquid cash savings, separated out between 3 "defined purpose" sub-accounts. Treasury Direct has all of my I-Bonds, and I use my PenFed accounts on random, infrequent occasions. Investments all at Vanguard, which is also managed online.

I have never really used a brick-and-mortar bank... I've always managed my money online ever since I was in high school (about 10 years ago) and first opened a bank account. I have always mailed/scanned/mobile-deposited my checks into USAA, and I've never had issues. When I find that I have a horde of cash, I get a money order (cost: $.50-$1) from the post office (or a local bank), then I deposit it normally as a regular check ("normal" for me, via mobile app). If I need cash, I get it straight from the ATM, and if it's an exceptionally high amount, with a quick phone call, they can instantly raise my daily withdrawal limit (I found out the hard way that these existed, when I needed $8k in cash during my first week living in Japan).

[MonkeyMama]

I don't use online banks for checking. I don't have the option of direct deposit, and I don't have a smart phone, so it doesn't seem like a good option for me.

Some financial institutions will let you scan online deposits with a scanner. Of course, in that case you need a scanner. Maybe they are phasing these out in the cell phone age? (I've only had a phone for depositing for about 18 months, but we scanned our deposits for many years prior).

Just to throw out another option for managing an "online only" bank.

[creditcardfree]

I don't have a smartphone so all of our check deposits get scanned with our scanner. USAA is our primary bank for these types of deposits.

[indicatorguy]

HSBC works good for me since It can be use to transact online. Some banks that are connected to paypal should work too.