91–100 of 151 posts
Do US banks not support direct transfers online or by phone?
Sure, for $30 each. Or you can use "bill pay" to have your bank mail a paper check.
I tried to use Dwolla and it it was absurd. I set my account up fine. My friend sent me $1200 for a ski lease. I withdrew it and it appeared to work. Days later when the money did not appear in my bank account, I checked back and it said, "processing withdrawl" (or something like that.) It said that for many days before I contacted them. They said I needed to scan my drivers license and send it to them. The only acco…
Every bank I've opened an account with has asked for photo id...
Nothing wrong with that, ego has driven much of civilization but you certainly should build Dwolla into actual business plans, it won't be around much longer.
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I haven't ever been subject to differing costs between credit/debit card and cash prices, with the sole exception of the liquor store. Are there specific stores in the US that do this?
Credit cards have fees -- interest, account-keeping fees, and so on. It's why banks like them.
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Sure, for $30 each. Or you can use "bill pay" to have your bank mail a paper check.
This is not true, it obviously varies by bank. Bank of America allows free online transfers to other B of A accounts, and it costs between $3 and $10 to transfer to accounts outside the bank. The $3 option to transfer between banks is pretty fast, while the free, inside bank option is instantaneous.
It could be time has made things better - or it could be you live in one of the better BofA fiefdoms...
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people really only use credit cards for online purchases or when they're already living beyond their means If I'm parsing what you're saying correctly, then that doesn't match my experience. Most people I know will use a credit card at an EFTPOS machine in preference to using their ATM card, and lots of people use the credit card regular because it's simpler than regularly getting cash from the ATM. My current trip f…
Credit cards are still more expensive than debit cards, and in Australia any machine that can take the former will take the latter as well. Credit cards allow you to spend money you don't have, whereas debit cards don't.
Not all credit cards have annual fees, and those that do usually offer benefits to the card holder that the card holder has determined are worth the cost of the fee.
Interest is only charged if you don't pay your card off each month, and I have mine set up to pay automatically.
They do allow you to spend money you don't have, but they are also isolated from your savings account. My credit card limit is substantially lower than the amount of money in my bank account. A debit card on that account would mean that card fraud actually has an impact on my savings.
In addition in most cases, using a debit card over a credit card network (as opposed to EPTPOS) subjects you to the same rules as using a credit card - you can still end up spending money you don't have, and be liable for it. So your distinction between Credit and Debit cards is actually between credit card networks and the EFTPOS network.
All of which is unrelated to your original point that I was offering a counter-opinion to. Regardless of you personal views on the merits of credit cards, my experience is that Australians use credit cards for in store purchases more often than EFTPOS, and much more frequently than your suggestion of "when they're already living beyond their means".
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> A month later his bank was allowed to pull that back out because he had overdrafted. How is that even possible?
This is something about the US banking system that I find completely crazy. Other banks/companies can 'pull' money from your account. Where I come from, all bank transfers are 'push' as far as I'm aware. Ie. the sender of the money has to specifically authorize an amount to be sent. In the US it appears that in a lot of cases, the receiver of money can specify the amount they want to receive and simply pull it from t…
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Yes, those are exactly the questions I've seen on credit checks to verify my identity.
The problem with this theory is that a credit check needs an SSN. An SSN wouldn't have confused OP with his father.
My wife and mother in law share a first name. And a middle name that varies by one letter. (Ie. Mary Ann and Mary Beth) credit reports routinely mix them up.
When I was in school in 1996, a collector managed to get a business debt of my grandfather (who shared a name and died in 1986) attached to me.
I tried to use Dwolla and it it was absurd. I set my account up fine. My friend sent me $1200 for a ski lease. I withdrew it and it appeared to work. Days later when the money did not appear in my bank account, I checked back and it said, "processing withdrawl" (or something like that.) It said that for many days before I contacted them. They said I needed to scan my drivers license and send it to them. The only acco…
SSNs are horrible IDs for a variety of reasons. Thousands or millions of Americans do not have valid SSNs or use EINs for personal IDE identification.
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This is not true, it obviously varies by bank. Bank of America allows free online transfers to other B of A accounts, and it costs between $3 and $10 to transfer to accounts outside the bank. The $3 option to transfer between banks is pretty fast, while the free, inside bank option is instantaneous.
As a counter point, in 2005, I had a BofA branch in New Mexico say I need a business account to do a transfer to a BofA in Washington state - and otherwise they’d do a wire transfer for $50. (When I was in Wa state transferring to NM was free.) It could be time has made things better - or it could be you live in one of the better BofA fiefdoms...