I don’t recall if USAA is a true bank vs. a credit union but if the latter, you may be able to make deposits in some other CU’s ATMs. Ours allows this - there is a specific list of CUs that I can use, and another list, even smaller, which has a fairly full-service unmanned kiosk available for things like bank-issued checks.
Oh - and if your reason for avoiding a credit union was that there wasn’t anything you liked in your area, you could go with one of the other ones that is NOT in your area. Same issue with nothing local (though you’d have access to the local CUs’ ATMs fee-free) as with an internet-only bank. Most CUs have online billpay and other banking transactions, also.
A lot of CUs have ways of getting you in the door even if you don’t “qualify” - they have affiliate groups you can join.
USAA is a credit union, but I did not see anything on their site about being able to deposit through any ATMs at all. But, there is a UPS Store about a mile away from me, which they do accept deposits through, so that is not so bad.
One thing to remember about using Internet only banks is don’t use them if you’re trying to hide money to avoid an attachment or judgement.
Creditors routinely send out attachment notices to Internet only banks, not knowing if the person does or does not have an account with them. They’re hoping to hit it lucky, since a lot of people think Internet only is a good way to hide from creditors.
That’s the second place creditors look. The first place is they usually send out an attachment notice to any bank with a five or ten mile radius from your house
Nope. Not hiding anything. Just learning to hate the traditional big banks based on their changing the whole basis on why I had accounts with them. I’ve already been screwed by Chase and Wells Fargo. Not going that route again.
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USAA, although it is owned by its members, is not a credit union. It is not regulated by the NCUA. It is a Federal Savings Bank backed by the FDIC and regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision.
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I see from USAA’s website that they offer:
Easy Deposit your checks at more than 1,900 participating UPS Stores® nationwide.2
Deposit@Mobile® using your iPhone® or Android™ device. Available to qualified members.3
Deposit@Home® lets qualified members deposit checks using a scanner and computer.3
Free direct deposit.
I guess you will have to call to see who is a qualified member: that might require military service or somebody in your family who has had military service.
I have USAA and I love it, but the one downside to it is that it is very difficult to deposit cash, and if you ever have a large amount that you need to deposit you have to jump through a lot of hoops.
Funny. Somehow I got the idea it was a credit union. So it seems to be kind of halfway between a bank and a credit union.
Honestly I haven’t seen any online solution (credit union or bank) which is very friendly to cash.
Well, based on this thread I went with an USAA account. Not only would BofA charge me for using the debit I will also be charged if I don’t have a regular automatic deposit to my checking or auto transfer to my savings OR keep a min balance.
As I’m unemployed and not taking any state aid my deposits are a bit sporadic. B of A was going to end up costing me about $22/month to keep. And the nearest ATM for them is about 12 miles away. The reason I went with them in the first place was just because they were big, free and everywhere. All of those things aren’t pertinent anymore.
I’ve been banking with First Internet Bank of Indiana for many years. Like the others mentioned, they refund ATM fees. I get 0.7% on checking right now (no fees), and 1% on savings. I use their online bill payment pretty extensively, and it’s always worked well for me. My paycheck is direct deposited, and they will send out deposit envelopes whenever I want. There are supposedly a few ATMs that take deposits, but I’ve never needed to seek one out. They have some kind of check-deposit thing where you send them a photo of the check, too.
Currently I am debating between USAA, Ally and Schwab. I gotta sit down and do a side by side comparison to see who best fits my needs. Unless someone comes up with some other great bank/CU that I haven’t run across so far.