5 Reasons Why I Pay For My Bank Account
If you are a regular browser of personal finance blogs then you will have read a lot about why you should stop paying to access your money and why you should be opening a free bank account because of how much money you will save over the long term.
Well this might be an unpopular post among the financial gurus but here’s 5 reasons why I pay for my bank account:
1. I get to speak to a real person
I don’t mean this in an “I’m so lonely, customer service agents are my only friend” type of way. In today’s world if you need to speak to a company about your account then you will probably have to go online, open a support ticket and wait for a canned response. There is something genuinely nice about being able to walk into my branch, being smiled at and have a pool of customer service staff available to help me out. I feel like I am able to get my point across better when I have an open dialog with a person standing in front of me, and have my problem understood. Plus, I LIKE speaking to the staff at my bank.
2. Exceptions can be made
This is closely connected to point 1, but when you are speaking to a real person that doesn’t have to stick to their script they are more willing (and able) to go above and beyond. I feel much more able to connect to a person through a smile and a handshake than I will ever be able to do via instant messenger, email or a phone call! I actually built up good relationships with the staff at my local branch, and they were a key part in helping me get the right documentation for my Canadian permanent residency application. One of the advisors at the branch even wrote me a personalized letter attesting to my character.
Still the best way to get great customer service
3. They don’t ‘hold funds’ when I deposit
When I deposit a pay cheque at my local branch, the full amount is cleared instantly. I have still not found an online bank that can offer the same service. Yes, my employer is still fairly old fashioned and I am giving an actual cheque to take to the bank. I know that some free banks will clear up to a certain amount instantly, but I like to have instant access to my money.
4. They can afford to offer me ‘frills’
Because I am paying for their services, my bank can afford to provide me with the ‘frills’. The frills that I like at my local bank are the simple things like free coffees and the TV to watch while I wait. But also there’s the other frills like the fantastic mobile banking app, the prizes and competitions to win tickets to the Stanley Cup games (you might have figured out what bank it is by now), discounts on movie tickets and other exclusive deals… They even have drive-thru banks! (Only used it once, not sure how I feel about being that lazy… but still it’s nice that the option is there!)
I may never have won tickets – but at least the chance is there!!
5. The availability of their branches
I’m sure it’s expensive to run thousands of branches nationwide. But if part of my fee is for the convenience of being able to easily find a branch in any corner of the country that I’m in then it’s probably worth it. Friends have to incur the extra charges of taking money out from random ATMs, whereas I don’t think I’ve ever been more than a few minutes walk from a branch (or at the very least an ATM) of my bank.
Pretty sure that one of those shacks will be my bank…
So generally it’s fair to say that I am very happy paying for my current level of service at my bank account.
As full disclosure, this post was drafted about 2 months ago – and since then I have closed all my accounts at any institution that I had to pay for – and I now only have free bank accounts.
My next blog post will be about why I decided to make the switch, and how I feel about it now!
Do you still pay to access your own money? How do you justify the cost?
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Nope, we bank with Presidents Choice. We pay no fees, no money is held, don’t care about frills and free coffee, all our cheques are free etc. Don’t care about seeing a teller and if we need one we go to CIBC. I think it’s personal really. For us, we’ve had no need to pay fees but for others they enjoy parking the car, going in, waiting in line, having conversations with people, for us, not really. Great post though to share your opinion.
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Haha CBB – you’re gonna like my next post
I backtracked and I’m very happy to only have free bank accounts now! And I’m also with PC Financial (Great choice!)
It was interesting to read back on my draft about why I was so committed to paying for a bank account…
Jon recently posted..5 Reasons Why I Pay For My Bank Account
I’m very curious as to why you switched. We have the Scotiabank Moneyback account. So although we pay, we get most of the fee back through our account. We get all the perks of having a “real” bank, but also really don’t pay any fees on it.
That’s definitely a smart way to do it. Check back on Friday for another post about why I switched
Nicely written article, but I was left feeling a little confused at the end.
I work at a bank, and you can get all of those things you listed and more and not have to pay a cent in bank fees.
Specifically, the bank I work at has no “free” bank accounts – except for student accounts.
But all other chequing bank account fees (which range from 3.95 – 29.95) can be waived if you maintain a minimum balance. Thus you can cater to how much money you intend to maintain.
Savings, business and investing accounts work a little bit differently – but still possible to pay absolutely 0.
So – you can pay ZERO dollars for your account and you can still:
1. Come into the bank and deal with me (a teller) face to face
2. I will treat you the same way I treat someone paying for their account (although I will secretly think you are smarter for finding a way to not pay). I will make exceptions for you, not based on whether you pay fees or not, but based on whether you are a good customer.
3. “Hold Funds” policies are not based at all on the type of account you have or how much you pay in fees. There are individuals who pay 29.95 per month in fees, but will still get their cheques held. Decisions to hold cheques are made based on your reputation with us, and your employment and credit history with the bank in general.
4. We offer free coffee AND cookies
hehe, regardless of whether you pay bank fees or not.
5. You can come to any one of our banks whether you pay bank fees are not.
Sorry for the long rant – I just want to make sure I understand your article. I have just shown that you can get all those things AND more whether you pay for your accounts or not! I get all kinds of clients, some pay bank fees, others don’t for various reasons and they all get the same benefits that we have to offer!
Hey Vicky, thanks for dropping by and leaving your very informative comment! I’m really curious as to what bank it is you work for…
To be fair, I did know about the minimum balance part – but as most of my money is diverted straight into savings I never seemed to have a month for free… On top of that I always seemed to get charged extra for something or other, and generally got tired of it! I was surprised that no one at the bank (despite being super friendly) ever advised me of how I could reduce my monthly fees, even when I said that was why I was leaving…
I have written another post today because I’m genuinely happy that I changed all my accounts to free ones…
I work at TD Canada Trust
I am also surprised no one advised you on ways to save money at the bank.
As a teller, one of my primary duties from the start is to advise my clients on how to SAVE money. Believe it or not, I don’t want my clients to have to spend money on fees.
But a part of getting those fees waived, or avoiding monthly fees is responsibility on the clients part – meaning keeping track of your monthly balance or the number of transactions you do. Regardless of the amount of money in your bank account though, there’s almost always a way to waive your fees.
I’m not sure how other banks work, because I’ve always been with TD – even before I worked there. My family and I have never paid monthly fees at TD even though combined we have over 10 different types of accounts (from chequings, to savings, to U.S.).
The biggest problem that I have with ING is that I can’t deposit or withdraw money except via the ATM :/ Fortunately I live near an ING branch or else I would have the additional problem of not ever being able to speak with a person face-to-face
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