Brick and mortar finacial services

msf

It seems that these days, brick and mortar financial institutions are just fronts for back office services.

When I ask a complicated question in an office they'll just call the appropriate department. That's something I could do as easily from the comfort of my home. More recently though, I've noticed that actual physical services seem to be disappearing.

At two different brokerages recently I was unable to get a form from that brokerage notarized. In once case I was directed to a TBTF bank down the block, in another I was directed to a mailbox service place that notarized docs (for a nominal fee).

It seems to be getting harder to find banks with safe deposit boxes. I use a neighborhood bank, with a good rate and friendly service. (They'll even notarize your papers for free regardless of whether you're a customer.) Meanwhile, a TBTF bank is willing to give me a free box, but none of their local branches were built with boxes.

In applying for a credit card, I tried to keep a copy of the filled application. Impossible, even at the bank. They took my information and entered it, but would not/could not provide me a copy. Nor would they allow me to take a picture of the data entered. I might as well have applied over the phone.

Aside from medallion guarantees (brokerages) and certified checks (banks) do the physical store fronts still provide services that you find invaluable?

rono

Howdy,

I've been wondering along those lines, but with real estate. If we have 1/3 too much retail space, what percentage too much office space? How many services have become so much more convenient over the internet than driving to someone's office. If it's not literally a hands on service it no longer requires my physical presence.

Which of course leads to avoiding retail AND office real estate like the bloody plague.

and so it goes,

peace,

rono

Mark

msf, I hold on to a long time WF account for 1) withdrawing cash amounts greater than $200 which seems to be the max in one ATM transaction; 2) free cashier checks; 3) free notary services; 4) and it's the home base for many of my online bill payments as well as transfers back and forth between various brokerage and outside saving accounts all which I have been to busy (lazy) to reconfigure. I use #'s 1-2-3 maybe 1-2x/year and I can nearly always find a WF wherever I travel.

The account used to also pay interest on my checking account but no longer does so and I don't keep much in it anyway.

Last but not least it's the closest physical financial storefront to my igloo by many, many miles.

msf

Rono got at what may have been in the back of my mind, but hadn't crystallized. It's not that there's nothing one uses these places for (as Mark noted), but so little that they really don't need so much real estate or staff.

These days, its seems there are lots of "branches" (more like outposts) in supermarkets. If they can handle the notary and cashier check services (I don't know if they can), maybe all the real offices could close up shop.

FWIW, I use a brokerage for the cash management services (hub for ACH transfers, online bill pay, ATM account). Schwab seems to be good for that ($1000 daily ATM limit, no foreign transaction fee internationally, ATM fees rebated). And it pays 0.15% interest (hey, it's something). Fidelity seems to limit ATM withdrawals to $500/day, but you can get 1% on SPRXX.

It does look like WF is particularly stingy when it comes to ATM limits, but if that's your only game in town ...
https://www.valuepenguin.com/banking/atm-withdrawal-limits-daily-debit-purchase-limit

hank

I’m still steaming from a year or two ago when I walked into a local branch of my bank and requested a medallion signature guarantee in order to make a small IRA transfer from one custodian to another. Most don’t require this anymore. But a few still do.

The agent refused, saying I would need to bring in comprehensive financial records from both custodians showing all my assets on deposit at each, along with a letter from one of them authorizing the transfer of funds. She claimed that some kind of common scam takes place in the illicit use of signature guarantees and that banks and their agents had been defrauded in some cases for “millions of dollars” in recent years.

Well! ... Drove two blocks down the street to my credit union where the first fella I spoke to cheerfully provided the signature guarantee. I told the him it was OK to make a copy of the paperwork (most instutitions do now) but he declined out of respect for my privacy.

Marched into the bank a couple weeks later and made a big deal of closing out my accounts with them on account of this slight. But as with Clark Gable in the movie, they really didn’t give a dam.

davidrmoran

I have not been in a Fido branch for some time, but one of my kids had to have some handholding for using her Fido Roth moneys as first-time homebuyer, and they were helpful and told her about the forms and what to expect when she filed her taxes. She coulda done it over the phone, I bet. I find Fido phone and chat c/s to be always outstanding, although many places I have deal with recently have gotten way better and efficient and professional.

In farther past I have had both notarization and sig guarantee w Fido, but you better call first to confirm, I was told. I wonder if they can do that anymore. Of course they always want to schedule an investments review session ....

Our local small BoA branch office, otoh, has just about everything along these service lines, and SD boxes too, though call yours first for sig guarantee and notary presence. No charge for customers.

For me they have gone above and beyond twice recently, once to get some unbelievably superlow heloc rate, and the second time to provide secret (occult, unavailable unless you ask) system paperwork for $ transfer to child for said home purchase, to satisfy her different lender.

A good friend of mine who is a BoA IT / security SVP told me BoA have an intense new know-your-customer mandate, partly in response to anti-fraud regs, partly in response to WF malpractice, but coupled with active outreach and superfriendly responsiveness and 'be sure to let me know if there is anything else I can help you with'. He also thinks it probably is partly to atone for their own customer sins of a decade ago.