Depositing To ATM's

ATM's (automatic teller machines) have become a major channel for banking. They truly are a marvel. They usually work and work correctly. You can put money in and take money out. You can transfer money between accounts and buy stamps. There is, however, a major difference in the way your transaction is processed. A deposit to an ATM is recorded in the computer system when you do it, but the actual processing of the deposit may not happen until the next day. Here is an example. You are coming home from work after you bank branch has closed. You have checks that need to be deposited. The ATM is right there so you fill out the envelope and push the appropriate buttons and stuff your envelope into the slot. Great! your deposit is done and you are on your way. Well, sort of. You see the deposit will not be taken from the ATM until the next day. Some times it is done by branch personnel and sometimes it is pickup up by another department or service provider. That means there is a delay in your deposit getting into your account. Branch personnel or the pick-up service will take that deposit and process it the next day. That means that any checks or debits that come through your account that night will not be covered. Additionally you have to take into consideration holds or check aging. If the bank holds all local deposits for 24hrs then that delays your deposit even more. Another consideration is the size of the deposit. Banks can delay the availability of deposits if they have reason to believe there is additional risk. I once had a person bring in a personal check written in three different color inks without a payee listed. Danger, danger, danger. I would not take the check. The moral to the story is whenever possible make your deposits with a teller. It is faster and more efficient. Here is a situation that you may find interesting. I once had a customer call and say that a deposit she had made in our ATM has not shown in her account. Of course I was sceptical. I have heard that story many times, but the customer seemed sincere and I wanted to make sure I did all I could to find her deposit. Each deposit that is made into an ATM is imprinted with information to identify the deposit. We verified that each deposit that was recorded by the ATM was accounted for. Nothing was missing according to the ATM records. We opened the machine and looked everywhere, pulled out the hoppers and dismantled the machine as much as possible. Nothing. We took one more look and I looked into the front of the machine and I could see a crumpled envelope. It was stuck under the conveyor that takes the deposit envelope and prints on it. The didn't let the machine take the envelope, but crammed it in the slot herself before the machine had a chance to take it.

Overdraft Protection

We live in a fast paced world. Many times we end up our days counting the things we didn't get done. One of those things could be the accounting of our finances. So we choose taking Rudy to daycare and we will enter the check we just wrote for the dry cleaning later. Oh, we always remember later. We remember when we get the Overdraft Notice. The ideal situation is to write in each check and debit in as we do them, but we don't live in an ideal world. So there is Overdraft Protection. It comes in many forms. It could be an automatic transfer from a savings account, a special line of credit or a charge to your credit card. These could all have charges connected with them, but generally not as expensive as the Overdraft Charge without any protection. Overdraft Charges could be up to $36.00 per item. That can get very expensive. A line of credit could have a high rate on it, but 18% on $100 is only $19 if you carried the balance for an entire year. The bank will, of course, make you pay it back sooner than that. The overdraft from a savings account will, most likely, have a per transfer fee attached to it. The credit card will also have interest charges as well. Some banks will charge an annual fee for the privledge of having Overdraft Protection, but in the long run you will be better off having it available. I once had a customer that had an overdraft that was covered by overdraft protection. She claimed she had never signed up for it and wanted it cancelled, because she doesn't overdraft. She accepted the lower charge, though.

Read The Fine Print.

Have you ever opened a "Free Account" only to find out later that you have been charged? Always read the fine print. Many banks use promotional rates to bring in new customers, but there are strings attached. You get a good rate or a free account, but there are certain criteria that you must abide by. You may be required to open another companion account and keep a minimum balance. Direct deposit may be another. I remember opening Money Market accounts that had a fixed rate for 6 months, but required you to keep a minimum balance for 270 days. The rate, of course, returned to current market rates after the 6 months which was almost always lower and you paid a closing fee if you closed before the 270th day. So the great rate you received for the first 180 days is not so great once you average it out over the 270 days. There are other types of requirements as well. The list of things to look out for could include, direct deposit, additional accounts, regular usage, minimum or maximum balances and minimum time requirements. All this is acceptable if you are aware of it. Read the fine print on the flyers and ask lots of questions.