One thing that’s always bugged me is that banks are generally only open when everyone’s at work, making it very difficult to actually get any banking done. Why is this? Why do banks seemingly pick the most difficult hours to be open?
At it’s root, the banking industry is one of service, right? So why not be open evenings? Or, barring that, at least be open all weekend long.
Just this last weekend I had an emergency, for which had to write a check… a check that I didn’t have the money for. (Okay, technically, I had the money- my records show that I have less than the bank says I do, so I’ve been going with what my records show. Luckily, the discrepancy was more than the amount of the check. I digress.) Even though I got a check (from my employer, who owed me some money for contract work) to deposit to cover the check I was theoretically going to bounce, I couldn’t deposit it 'til Monday.
I know that banks now process checks basically every night, right? So why not be open every day? Why are they closed so much?
It’s still much better than it was just a few decades ago, when banks we’re only open from 9 AM to 2 PM. And here in Texas, until (IIRC) the early 1980s, branch banking was prohibited, so your bank had one and only one location.
When drive-through tellers appeared, they had to be within a certain (short) distance from the main bank. But my way cool, for the day, bank (Bank of Texas in Austin) in the '70s had a 24-hour drive through Teller. Whoohoo! Did almost all my banking from my taxicab after midnight.
Then the ATMs appeared and life became much simpler (and goofy for a bit - when they first appeared you could punch in a deposit and withdraw it right away - a guy here in Houston entered $40,000 in deposits, giving the machine an empty envelope for each of the many transactions, and withdrew that much cash, over a weekend).
I can testify from personal experience that, growing up in Arlington VA. I think banks were generally open from 9-2 during the weekdays, and 9-12 on Sat. That was in the 1950’s/60’s.
When I moved to Durham NC in 1967, I was astounded that my bankwasn’t open on Sat. It was open on Friday until something like 5 or 6. But closed on Sat. I’ll wager that was the norm in small towns.
“Empty envelope deposits” are a quick way to get the bank hold your funds and close your account if the bank thinks you did it intentionally. Additionally, now that banks typically only give up to $200 immediate credit for ATM deposits, this scam can’t work for more than $200 these days.
My guess, and it’s just that: a guess, is that banks just haven’t gotten used to the idea that it’s not the 50’s anymore.
Back in GrandmaRasta’s day, Grandpa went to work and Grandma stayed home. Grandma could do all the banking while her husband was at work.
Banks just haven’t accepted the idea that in most families these days, both parents work.
Also, whenever the bank is open they have to pay their employees, turn on the electricity, yada yada yada. It might not work from a cost/benefit analysis to keep the bank open.
Shop around for another bank or credit union. My credit union has lobby hours M-F 7:30-5 and drive-through until 6 at some locations. Some branches also have Saturday hours. Sounds like your gripe is not as much with when the bank is open as it is with when the bank would record your deposit. Most financial institutions I’ve worked with still end the banking day at 2:00 PM so transactions performed after that time go on the next day’s business. Most financial institutions hold check deposits for 1-5 business days as well so being able to deposit your check on Sunday probably wouldn’t have kept the check you wrote from bouncing.
the reason banks used to close at like 3 pm s because it takes more than 2 hours to close the bank, that is to say, check that all deposits are correct and accounted for, find the inevitable errors and correct them, package paperwork and send it for processing, reorganize the station for the morning with enough small bills, etc. Yes, it still takes this long with computerized teller stations. Before these stations it probably took for f*cking ever.
So in order to pay employees for a “regular” (non-overtime) work day, they had to close at 3pm. Employees would go home between 5:30 and 6, (at my bank no one could leave till all the teller stations were totaled out.) I used to think the same thing: “damn its inconvenient for the customers” but then no employer wants to pay out in overtime either so there ya go.
Banks nowadays that are open later in the evening either open later in the morning or have 2 shifts of employees.