Rog.Dodge

I came to North Carolina last Sept and have a set up a checking/cheque account and then when i got a Soc Sec No I got a credit card which has to be "secured with FULL funds of anything I spend for ONE YEAR! This is with Well Fargo

The bank have been pretty useless. I set up a new joint account when my spouse came out here and they have forgotten to send me MY debit card and sent the wrong email reply when I sent a query. They also said I could have a electronic share buying account but when I applied on line that's no true - non-residents are banned!

Does anyone recommend a good bank that actually can work with Ex-pats?

Thanks

Roger | Chapel Hill | NC

rachiea2610

Hi Roger,

I am in Durham, I have used both Suntrust and BB&T, I have never had problems with either of them. I only moved from Suntrust because they started to charge for their 'free' checking and we had our mortgage with BB&T so we got a free checking account there. I've been married to a US citizen for 5 years, so I don't know if that helped me out at all.

Charma1ne

Hey,

Sorry to hear you have had such a bad time with the bank! Try Bank Of America they have been AMAZING with me they take each individual as an individual (or maybe I just got a good branch?) it seems rather than a number which I really like!!! On top of that they are very expat friendly and have given me a lot of information on the easiest/best way for me to build a credit rating HIGHLY recommended.

Hope they are as good for you as they have been so far with me

Cx

chuckles67

HSBC (though there aren't many retail branches nor ATMs...)

100weight

I'm guessing you must have been lucky with your branch, as I wouldn't touch Skank of America with a really long barge pole. I've found dealing with the local credit unions far more satisfying. They gave us our car loan when no one else would. And we get a whopping 0.8% interest on our savings (as opposed to Skank of America's 0.01%). You can use any credit union ATM and in some cases you can use another credit union's branch as your own for depositing cheques etc. I also quite like our CU's electronic banking site.

Our biggest complaints with SoA, was they wouldn't give us a car loan (as we weren't perm residents yet), they charged us $10 every time we wanted a guaranteed cheque from them, and the latest: our credit card has an annual fee. So we changed it to their new no annual fee, cash back rewards CC, and low and behold they still will charge us an annual fee, because "if you process the account conversion the fee and rates will not change for the account" and to get the fee-less account I need to "apply for a new account". Idjits! But we are keeping the CC for now as it is helping with credit score. As soon as we can we will be getting rid of it.

Anyway, that's my 2c.
CWT

Charma1ne

[QUOTE=100weight;10246001]I'm guessing you must have been lucky with your branch, as I wouldn't touch Skank of America with a really long barge pole.QUOTE]

I guess banks are like visa processes...no two experiences are ever alike haha very glad I got the branch I did as although some of the customers are mental...! The guy I deal with was so good I ended up opening a business account with them also even though I was going to go with a local small bank as advised BOA die hard over here!

Cx

tonrob

The great thing about SunTrust is they are one of the few banks that issues a debit card that gives airline miles for money spent. Most cards that do this are credit cards, which can be more challenging to acquire for recent expats.

The SunTrust debit card gives 1 Delta mile per dollar spent. It's amazing how much money you can "spend" using a debit card when you really put your mind to it!

P.S. I pay a $75 annual fee for the debit card (which the value of the miles acquired completely covers - many times over) but no other fees for the type of checking account I have (as long as I keep a $3,000 'float' in it).

GeoffM

I think the question is more "Best branch to deal with ex-pats"! WF have been great, not that I've particularly taxed them, yet HSBC have been utter shite - completely the opposite to other experiences posted here. So I think to a large extent it depends on the knowledge of the branch you're working with more than the institution as a whole.

COB76

+1 for Wells Fargo though I agree it probably does very much vary branch to branch but their customer services, account options etc have been great.

[deletes rant about the differences with UK banks]

Charma1ne

Haha love this!!!

It amazes me that in America I can get a bank card to use there and then AND I can deposit cheques and cash into ATMS to go straight into my account!!! LOVE IT

Time for the UK to catch up I think...!

Cx

GeoffM

Not sure whether WF do it but one/some bank/s allow you to upload an image of a cheque from home! Excellent idea! Even with WF I can see scans of cheques that I've written displayed in my statement.

COB76

Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC all did (and have done for some time) this when I left the UK.
UK also has wide spread Chip & PIN.
So who really needs to catch up to who?

Wells Fargo allow you to take photos of a cheque and it will be cashed, you can then rip up the cheque (though I'd keep them just in case).

Charma1ne

What you talking about Willis

That is CRAZY!!! I tell you I love the whole convenience thing America has going on!!! Drive through prescriptions!?!!?!? Da funk….haha

Cx

tuxedocat

Banks vary by the person you are dealing with. I found WF call center to be terrible but the "Store Manager" is wonderful. It's best to deal with them in person to get something resolved. That secured card will help give you some credit history. I would go to a credit union and take out a small secured loan too for 12 - 36 months to have an installment line on your credit report too.


Many people praise credit unions but I found the wait times to be long and the online platform to be slow. Bank of America that many people hate I've only had good experiences with. I love their platform, ATM policies, and there is never almost never a line.
I use WF now because we moved up north. They seem to be fee happy though and twice I've had to call or change the account to have a fee taken off.

tuxedocat

Remote check deposit