Banking Locally

It’s been a little over a year now since my bank moved out of Braintree. Since I use direct deposit and pretty much live by my debit card, I haven’t really had the need to visit the new location in Quincy all that often. But there have been those occasions when I did need to deposit a check or make a cash withdrawal. I had to make the drive on Saturday morning, and with all of the other weekend duties, it’s a drag to go that far out of my way. So I’ve decided it’s time to switch banks and pick one right here in Braintree.

Since I already use direct deposit, I found that most banks would reduce or waive any monthly fees associated with the account. I use my debit card everywhere I go: for everything from large grocery purchases to picking up a gallon of milk at 7-Eleven. I certainly don’t want to be penalized for using my debit card, like Bank of America’s plan to charge its customers $5 a month. If a bank wants to reward me instead, like say paying me each time I swipe my card, like the 20 cents at , then I won’t say no.

My options here in town are certainly plentiful. I can go big and choose between Bank of America, TD Bank, and Citizen’s or I can go local, with options such as Braintree Cooperative, Rockland Trust, and South Shore Savings. Then there is the credit union route, either Liberty Bay or Tremont Credit Union. All of the banks I looked at offer a free checking account with a limited selection of benefits. Or you can go the preferred route and choose an account that requires a monthly fee but also offers extra perks, like discounts on closing costs or special rates. Here’s a quick rundown of what I found.

Liberty Bay Credit Union

Membership to Liberty Bay Credit Union is available to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Braintree. Liberty offers the FREE Benefits checking account with a minimum daily balance of just $5 and it also pays .05 percent interest. Not much for sure but Liberty Bay is also the only option to offer interest at all with no monthly fee attached. ATM use at Liberty Bay is free of charge and the use of network ATMs are also waived if you use direct deposit, otherwise you’ll pay $1 per transaction after the first five. Liberty Bay also offers free online banking and free bill pay.

Tremont Credit Union

At Tremont Credit Union, membership is open to all who live, work, or worship in Suffolk, Norfolk, or Middlesex County. Tremont’s Basic checking account has a monthly fee of $5 and does not pay interest. A minimum daily balance of $500 is also required. But if you use direct deposit both requirements are waived. Debit card use is free. You may want to go with the e-Green checking account, which requires no monthly fee or balance limit, in return for signing up for a paperless account.

Braintree Cooperative Bank

Braintree Coop’s Home Town Checking is probably just what I need but I wish it offered a few more incentives, particularly in terms of my debit card usage. The account has no monthly maintenance fee and so does not pay any interest. Not really that big a deal when you consider the low rates being paid out on the fee-based accounts. Your first order of checks are free and you also receive free online banking and bill pay, as you do with Braintree Coop’s fee-based accounts. The VISA Debit Check Card is free to use and while you do earn UChoose Reward Points each time you make a purchase it is only when you choose the pinless, or credit option. A nice touch but I would much prefer to earn the rewards with the Debit option as well.

The real difference at Braintree Coop comes with the larger balance accounts. You pay a monthly fee but you also get discounted consumer loan rates, $150 off mortgage closing costs, bonus rates on CDs, and a host of other incentives.  The Relationship Checking Account, which pays .10% interest, is the most popular at the bank. You receive free basic checks for life (or $10 off any premium order) and the $15 monthly service fee is reduced to $10 when you use direct deposit or waived altogether with a minimum daily balance of $5,000. The Preferred Checking account pays a slightly higher interest rate at .15% interest and has a monthly fee of $20. The fee is knocked down to $15 if you use direct deposit and is free altogether with a daily balance of $15,000. ATM use is free and Braintree Coop will pay up to $15 a month in ATM Surcharges, a nice touch for sure.

Rockland Trust

While Rockland Trust does offer a Free Checking Account I’m more interested in the free Eco Checking account. Eco Checking is for someone who uses their ATM card a lot, just like I do. It pays 20 cents per pin-based swipe and will pay up to $300 dollars in cash back incentives per year, which would amount to about 1,500 swipes per year, I would definitely qualify for the full $300.

Of course there’s a catch but I don’t think it’s too much of a problem. You must forgo the paper-based monthly statements and instead sign up to receive electronic statements. I don’t know about you but I have a pile of them right now sitting in a basket, gathering dust and cluttering up the place. You can always stop by the bank and grab an old statement if you need to, at no charge.

Both the free and fee-based accounts offered by Rockland Trust all offer the same deals, like free online bill pay, no fee ATM and debit card transactions, and a free order of checks. The interest-bearing accounts offered by Rockland Trust seem like less of a bargain. Both the Interest Checking and High-Yield Checking charge monthly fees and also require a minimum daily balance. But with interest rates ranging from .01% to .15% it hardly seems worth the monthly cost.

South Shore Savings Bank

Another bank I am considering is South Shore Savings Bank. Its Live It Up Rewards checking account is geared specifically for those who rely on their Debit card for most of their banking purposes. It pays a much higher interest rate of 2.01 percent and has no monthly fee To qualify, you must sign-up to receive electronic bank statements, enroll in Home Banking, use Bill Pay at least once per cycle, and make at least 15 debit card purchases per month. Furthermore, you are not charged to use another bank’s ATM and SSSB will refund any fees up to $10 you accrue at another bank. Similar to Braintree Coop, South Shore Savings Bank offers the Debit Rewards program, which offers 1 point for every $2 spent on pinless purchases (credit).

A Quick Word About Overdrafts

When deciding on a new bank, you’ll want to keep an eye out for overdraft protection clauses in your account selections. Although the Federal Reserve issued new rulings that banks cannot add overdraft protection without the customer’s consent, it pays to keep your eye out. I’m definitely old school when it comes to overdraft protection. Since I use my Debit card as much as I do, I would much rather be declined at the Point of Sale were I have to insufficient funds to cover the purchase. I would want to know immediately as it would probably mean something was amiss with my money. Granted, before finalizing  your decision to opt in or out, you should find out how much the bank charges for overdrafts. The lowest amount I found was $20 at Liberty Bay and the highest was $33 at Rockland Trust.

No Thanks to the Big Banks

To be perfectly blunt, I’m simply not interested in going with the big three: Citizen’s, TD Bank, and Bank of America. I like the idea of a small-town bank over the much larger banks. So yes, even though Citizen’s Bank is offering a $40 incentive bonus for opening up a new account and its GreenSense account pays 10 cents a swipe it’s not on my short list. While you can’t be sure of anything in this life, I like to know that my local bank is benefiting from my investments on a local level and contributing to my community.