Banking Hours and the Year 2002

The BBQ Pit
1

Are we not in the Electronic Age, is this not the year 2002 in the 21st century we live in.

Today’s Rant: I have no money on my person because;

My Bank is only open from 9 AM until 3 PM, I work from 8:30 until 5:00, nowadays I have been working late. I get paid today Wednesday (twice a month) at 3:00 PM (that’s another rant).

I usually deposit my payroll check via ATM with my ATM/DEBIT card. Usually no problem, but my ATM/DEBIT card expired end of Sept, the bank sent it mid-Sept, it is the 2nd week of Oct, OK still no ATM/DEBIT Card.

I have called about the length of time it takes to get the card, the CSR tells me “You Should Have Your Card”, Oh You don’t say, You God Damn Right I Should Have My Fucking Card. How is this getting delivered, Pony Express, Homing Pigeon, I live in DE, it is being Sent from DE to DE, how Fucking Long does it take. She says “I can have another card sent to you”, my response, Why Don’t You Send It To A Branch I Can Get To", she says OK, but it will take 2 Days, I can pick up my card, Friday. I’m like why does it take two days. She says that’s how long it takes to get your card done.

I do have checks and would write checks, but without getting my balance, I do not want to risk bouncing checks.

So, I am left with going to a branch bank and deposit my payroll check via a teller. But, again they are open from 9AM to 3PM, is this not the Electronic Age, the year 2002, in the 21st Century.

So I will have to leave at Lunch, a very busy time for Banks, deposit my payroll check, get Money, maybe Lunch itself and get back to Work. Which we have been very busy at work, I really don’t have time out of my day to go to the bank, but what choice do I have.

Will someone please explain to me with the 24/7 culture-environment we live in, the Fucking Bank is only open from 9 AM to 3 PM. Can’t they be open to people who work standard business hours, 9 AM to 5 PM actually be open like 8 AM to 6 PM, M-F, is that so hard.

Please explain.:mad: :confused:

2

Does your employer not offer direct deposit in “the Electronic Age, the year 2002, in the 21st Century”?

3

DD is great, but that doesn’t answer the question. I’ve often wondered that myself.

4

Are you not aware of the term Bankers hours?

5

If you’re in the US, First Union (Wachovia) is open Fridays until 6:00. Some banks (some of the smaller ones) are open on Saturdays. Do some due diligence.

6

Ha! At leastyou can leave during your lunch hour. I teach, and it is effectivly impossible for me to get all the little administative stuff done in anything like a timely fashooin because the only way for me to get to anything with 9-4 type hours is to take a personal day, which means I have to get a sub, which means my kids lose a days worth of learning, since you can’t really expect a sub–the most underpaid, underappriciated job in God’s creation–to keep the kids engaged in anything that challenges them, especially not this early in the year when we are still having all sorts of complex power struggles. This is compounded by the fact that I had to take three days of bereavement leave (mother-in-law died) last week, so I really can’t justify leaving my kids. Having just moved between states, I am being deluged in Stupid Administrative Aasks, and have to rush out every single day right as the bell rings in hopes of getting a single one of those accomplished before hte close of the business day. I hate the paperwork side of life.

7

Do you have bank branches in your supermarkets? Practically every supermarket around here has a bank branch in it. The one I go to is open until 8 pm on weekdays, and is also open on Saturday and Sunday. And my regular bank branch has extended hours. One of the reasons I like my bank (Fleet) is that it has convenient locations and hours.

Switch to a bank that meets your needs.

8

Can you not check your balance over the web or via the phone? My bank offers both of these services (free of charge no less; that’s the truly amazing part. Now if I want to deal with a live human teller, there’s a fee and a whole rant in itself).

9

How about the DMV? It’s only open M-F, 9-4, and even then you have to take off half a day of work to stand in line. No quickie lunch-hour driver’s license renewal. :frowning:

10

I imagine banks justify shorter branch opening hours by pointing to the availability of telephone and online banking services for balance enquiries, payments and transfers, and agreements with other banks to use ATMs for cash withdrawal. This doesn’t help when it comes to depositing cheques, but I suppose the banks claim that this is a fairly low-priority and increasingly uncommon task (I don’t remember the last time I wrote a cheque; last year some time? I only receive cheques from my grandmother, and that’s maybe once or twice a year).

11

No, I think that they justify it by tradition. Bankers are not often noted for their freewheeling lifestyles and cutting edge technology. Conservatism and tradition are the hallmarks of a successful bank (After all, would you trust your life savings to First National Bank and Nudie Bar of Hooterville?).

Plus, you’re not going to get a whole lot of bank tellers to work odd hours – the job sucks enough as it is.

As far as the missing ATM card goes – I’d worry. If a bank says they sent it on a certain date, you can usually take them at their word. If it’s lost in the mail, there’s a possibility that someone else has it and is using it. You should probably take measures to protect your financial interests.

12

But it’s my understanding, Crusoe, that banks had shorter hours before ATMs and Internet banking became popular. I, for one, would like to know why bankers keep bankers hours.

[sub]The first person to say ‘because they’re bankers’ is SO on my list.[/sub]

13

No, I can not use Web Access, I can Phone for account info - balance & checking. Yes, I do know what Banker’s Hous are, but still come on, they should be Open Longer, IMO anyway. No, there are no branches in Supermarkets, and Yes the Bank is open on Saturday, but that does not help me NOW - I still don’t have any Money.

14

Ah, fair enough. It’s not something I was aware of (I’ve had phone banking since my first account), so unfortunately my speculation doesn’t help much there.

15

If this were GQ, I’d keep my mouth shut. But I have heard that banker’s hours arose because of the understandable desire to keep clerk’s hours to a normal day, and the requirement to account for all transactions after the banking day was over. In those pre-computer, mechancial adding-machine days, totalling up your day’s transactions and reconciling your cash could take a few hours.

This is unsupported, I-have-heard type information, however.

  • Rick
16

I’m a bit behind the times, as I haven’t been a banker for about 12 years, but that’s pretty much true. Even back in those dark ages, we used computers to balance drawers, but it still took a while. Mistakes are made counting cash, adding checks, and accounting for all other instruments. This would typically take 15-60 minutes, and sometimes several hours (those were known as “bad days.”)

Why is it so important that an entire day be closed out at once? Why can’t banks be open the same hours as Gas and Gulp? Because the Fed keeps a very close eye on how banks account for themselves.

When in doubt, blame the Ferderal Government.

17

Now, see, Bricker, there’s an answer! Thanks.

18

Um…

Don’t most banks have a night deposit slot for just such occasions?

19

This is my personal payroll check, and No, my company does not offer Direct Deposit, I wish they did.

20

OK, do this:

1 - use the night deposit slot, or deposit your check by mail. I deposit checks by mail all the time. It’s easy. Make out a deposit slip. Write “For deposit only, Acct# xxxxx” on the back of the check. Sign the check. Put it in an envelope. Send it to the bank.

2 - Go to a grocery store. Buy a quart of milk, some cigarettes, whatever. Write the check over the cost of the goods. Most grocery type stores allow this, up to $25 or so.

3 - Get a fuckin’ bank that has decent hours.

Now you deposited your check AND have cash, and didn’t have to go to a bank. Shortly thereafter, you’ll have a bank with reasonable hours, since they do exist. Voila!