Bank to go all paperless

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
The bank where I have my checking account sent out mailers announcing that as of September, they will be going "all paperless" and not sending account statements by snail mail any longer. They advised getting an online account with the bank where depositors could download and print out their monthly statements. I don't trust the Internet where bank info is concerned added to the fact that I do not have a printer. I may just go to the branch office and ask for a printout of my statements and photostats of my checks.
 

I know how you feel, but you don't need to print out statements. That is what your computer is for, to store files. . You save your electronic statements to a file in your computer named Bank Statements and Year, or however you want to name it. It's always there and even if you somehow "lost" your file, it's always there at the bank for you.
 
debodun said:
The bank where I have my checking account sent out mailers announcing that as of September, they will be going "all paperless" and not sending account statements by snail mail any longer. They advised getting an online account with the bank where depositors could download and print out their monthly statements. I don't trust the Internet where bank info is concerned added to the fact that I do not have a printer. I may just go to the branch office and ask for a printout of my statements and photostats of my checks.
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I bank online and you can simply print out the statements and you can view and print all of your checks online as well. I do not blame you for not trusting but to me I can keep better tabs on my money on line than going to the banks in person.
 

I don't see the need to print these things. They are already stored in your computer and at the bank. Even if you don't back up your files and they're lost, (unlikely) all your statements can be viewed online at the bank's site from anywhere.

What am I missing?
 
Way back when getting a monthly statement to balance checks written against deposits I thought going paperless was a crazy idea. Then they offered free online banking. WOW huw nuts was that.


Didn't take me more than a day to realize I could eliminate check writing, have encrypted access, have a verifiable record of payment and balance our account instantly. Major benefit, any descrepancie can be discussed the same day with your bank unlike waiting a month for your paper statement to show up.


Is there really the need for a printer? Only if you like storing paper that has your account info on it. But if paper is a must a brand name wireless printer laser black only printer can be bought for about $60.00 One of those purchases that can pay for itself over time.
 
I don't know about paying for itself....ink used to be terribly expensive years ago when I did have a printer....unless it came down in price? Plus, if you have an old computer, it might be difficult to find a compatible printer.
 
I understand your being hesitant, Deb. But my husband and I have used online banking and bill paying for many years. And again, no need to print anything as it is all saved online. It is very secure and we have never had issues. I think more and more places are going paperless, so I think you may need to go that route, like it or not One thing we do, is change our passwords at least twice a year, or quarterly.
 
:confused:

debodun -

I'm curious as to why you posted this thread. Are you wanting solutions? Are you just venting?

As is often the case, whenever people present a solution you point out why it wouldn't work for you or why you don't like their suggestions.

Okay, you don't like the idea of the bank going paperless. We get it. But there is nothing you can do about it.

You're not poor- or low income; far from it. Buy a printer.
OR use the printer at the library (probably a charge per page)
OR go to bank every month and ask them to print your statements and copies of your checks, front & back (they might not go along with what you want or they might charge you)
OR have your accountant print your statements & copies of checks
OR do nothing....live with the fact that you're not going to have paper statements. :whome:
 
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Well, I don't like direct deposit, either, but Social Security forces you to choose ONE account in which to have it deposited. At least, for the time being, my pension is still sent to me my snail mail. That way I can take the check to whatever bank I wish and into what account I choose to put it and decide how much to keep out for "pin money" each month.
 
I haven't had a printed statement for at least 10 years and I like it that way.

As far as printers go, I just bought an all-in-one printer at Walmart for $29, ink cartridge included. It copies, prints, faxes, everything but do the dishes. We have a nicer printer at home but sometimes need to print something in the RV, so it's the RV printer.

You can get very simple printers, suitable for printing statements, etc. sometimes for $20 or so. If all you do is print statements, one of those will do you just fine.
 
Maybe more accurate to say I don't have a WORKING printer. I have 3 that don't print. One is a Laserjet that was a "rescue" that someone was going to trash at work. It worked fine until the cartridge ran dry. The cartridges used to be about $150 a pop and probably not available anymore (it's about 20 years old). I also have two inkjets that go through the motions of printing, then spit out a blank paper. Probably cost more to fix them than to buy a new one. I did look at printers at the nearest WalMart, jujube. The ones they show on their Web page mysteriously disappear when I look in the store.
 
Marie5656 said:
I understand your being hesitant, Deb. But my husband and I have used online banking and bill paying for many years. And again, no need to print anything as it is all saved online. It is very secure and we have never had issues. I think more and more places are going paperless, so I think you may need to go that route, like it or not One thing we do, is change our passwords at least twice a year, or quarterly.
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I do the same and love it. I never print my statements. They send one every month anyway and I shred them. I have a Chase credit card and they have gone paperless and I love it. I also have my Bank's credit card and I pay it online also. I change my password every 6 months and have never had a problem. If I did, the Bank would cover it anyway.
 
I still use checks to pay my bills and get a paper statement every month, and I like it that way. For awhile my bank started charging $3 statement fee monthly for the paper statement, but they soon dropped that since I always had the minimum balance in my account, so it's free again.

I realize that times are changing and there will come a day when I have no option but to go online for statements, and I'll just do it then. You should dump those junk printers Deb and get one that works, it's not too expensive.

If you order anything from Walmart online, they'll usually deliver it free to your local store for pickup. You need to get yourself a credit card, you're depriving yourself of a lot of online access and convenience in shopping.

Get one without an annual fee, like Capital One or Discover, then pay your bill in full by check if you choose, that's what I do. These days the brick and mortar stores don't bother to carry physical inventory on the shelves if they don't have to, you have to change a little to suit the times if you should take advantage sometimes in this world of technology.
 
debodun said:
Maybe more accurate to say I don't have a WORKING printer. I have 3 that don't print. One is a Laserjet that was a "rescue" that someone was going to trash at work. It worked fine until the cartridge ran dry. The cartridges used to be about $150 a pop and probably not available anymore (it's about 20 years old). I also have two inkjets that go through the motions of printing, then spit out a blank paper. Probably cost more to fix them than to buy a new one. I did look at printers at the nearest WalMart, jujube. The ones they show on their Web page mysteriously disappear when I look in the store.
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You can get the printer delivered with free shipping with Walmart. They ship free here in Houston if its at least $35.00. I bought mine for $70.00 with no tax or shipping. I don't use it to print bank statements but you could if you want. Its so nice not to have all that paper.
 
I don't think you want solutions either like apple said. This is what the world is now. If you do not choose to deal with it you can bet your bank after awhile will charge you for those statements they have to print for you. But you have enough money to handle it then why start a thread like this. Frankly I choose to save my money by taking advantage of online everything. Banks and credit cards will cover anything that is hacked so I don't see the problem. You and I choose to live in different worlds and it works for both of us.
 
I will do no online banking until I'm forced into it. I don't trust the internet and don't even like putting my credit card number on Amazon to make purchases. Deb, you don't say how old your computer is but mine is pretty old. I tried to get a new printer and it wouldn't work because of the age of my computer.. Also when buying a new printer check the prices of ink. The cost varies quite a bit.
 
Gary O' said:
The price of ink is nuts

If I want anything printed, I go to an office supply store
a few cents per page...big woop
...and, unlike printers, they have yet to go obsolete
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another nice thing about using an office supply store, is I now just email them what I want printed
by the time I stop in, it's ready
 
I hate paper and see absolutely no reason to save paper statements. I do all my banking online and have done so for years and years, with never a problem.

Most banks don't return cleared checks to you anymore. The ones around here haven't done so for several years. I can't see why anybody would want to save all that stuff when there's a perfectly good electronic encrypted record available from the bank. What good are old cancelled checks? Just more clutter. I think the time is coming soon where no one will use checks anymore,anyway. Some stores here don't take them now because they've had trouble with forgeries.

Banks here will charge you for hard copies of statements and/or checks. I think it's time to break that paper habit. And for cryin' out loud, toss those old printers that do not work. Just junk taking up space.
 

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