Are your banks closing?

Packerjohn said:
I live in Central Canada (ya, the good ole' prairies) & I have not heard of any banks closing, yet! I know for a fact that many smaller communities in the UK have lost their post offices which is a shame because the old age pensioners used the post office for a little socializing. For many it was their only human contact in an increasing lonely world. Perhaps this is the price we all have to pay for worshiping that great god, technology. Every year we are becoming more & more isolated & becoming more & more lonely; especially seniors who are no longer in the work place. More cell phones, more cable stations, more ATMs, more drive-through coffee, more self-check outs at big stores, drive-through take out restaurants, more home delivery of groceries, more computers. Now, with Corvid-19 our government & powers that be are telling us to stay home & "enjoy" more virtual holidays on your computer screen. Oh, yes, keep away from other people who are or might be spreading this disease. Now, there is hope that Corvid-19 will eventually go away & normal life will return. However, technology will not go away ever. I'm not surprised that depression, loneliness & suicides are on the increase. Guess, there is a price to pay for everything. As they say, you can't "have your cake & eat it too". Happy texting in your lonely room!
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Totally agree with this assessment. I think greed is driving a lot of the "online" movement. And you're correct, there is a cost to pay for it.
 

Packerjohn said:
I live in Central Canada (ya, the good ole' prairies) & I have not heard of any banks closing, yet! I know for a fact that many smaller communities in the UK have lost their post offices which is a shame because the old age pensioners used the post office for a little socializing. For many it was their only human contact in an increasing lonely world. Perhaps this is the price we all have to pay for worshiping that great god, technology. Every year we are becoming more & more isolated & becoming more & more lonely; especially seniors who are no longer in the work place.
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It's not so much that we've lost the post offices , more that they are now no longer for the most part, operating from a standalone building.. a dedicated Post office building.. ( which is sad in itself) .. but they have been merged into local small stores. Usually the local newsagent or grocery store. .. and there everything that was available before is still available. There has been some losses, but almost entirely from hamlets and villages
 
Well, it's not greed that drives me to do everything I can online. It is convenience. Going to the bank and waiting in line for deposits and whatever else is a big fat pain in the butt. Doing that stuff online saves time, gasoline, and aggravation, for one thing. I can deposit a check in about three clicks from my computer. I can see transactions instantly and don't have to spend forever on balancing my checking account and going through to see what has and has not cleared. I can see an instant real-time balance. If I need cash, which I hardly ever do, I can zip over to the ATM.

Why in the world would I want to go stand in line at the bank again?
 
Pecos said:
Ours is not closing, but it looks like I may need to start think about alternatives to our safe deposit box.

What are you folks doing to deal with this?
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I wonder that too. Example (1): We do have a very large safe at home but the atty. who did our trust/will informed us that keeping the trust (& other imp. papers) would be much safer in our safe deposit box. (Hey, may be a good time to invest in safe companies! ;) ) Example (2): I need to have 4 cashiers checks cut from an account & mailed out ASAP. Can't do that online, and now becuz of COVID, can't even go to the bank, wait in the line outside to get in, and do that; have to make an appointment since the banks doors are closed to everything but appointments.
 
Butterfly said:
Well, it's not greed that drives me to do everything I can online. It is convenience. Going to the bank and waiting in line for deposits and whatever else is a big fat pain in the butt. Doing that stuff online saves time, gasoline, and aggravation, for one thing. I can deposit a check in about three clicks from my computer. I can see transactions instantly and don't have to spend forever on balancing my checking account and going through to see what has and has not cleared. I can see an instant real-time balance. If I need cash, which I hardly ever do, I can zip over to the ATM.

Why in the world would I want to go stand in line at the bank again?
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I did not mean that people who do online transactions are greedy.

I meant that greed is driving a lot of companies to only have online presences. It's all about the bottom line. it is easy to see that having just an online company will cost a lot less than a brick and mortar store. The problem, from my experiences, is worse customer service, no human contact, and the time it takes to sit on a computer doing all the things companies expect customers to do now is aggravating to me.

For instance, I went to my bank's website to learn how to deposit a check online. It sounds easy but I hunted around for a long time and still didn't find instructions for it. Some of these sites want to lead you on a merry chase to find answers. That is a waste of my time. But companies don't care. These places really don't seem to care about customers, just their profit.
 
I am a little of both worlds so to speak. I don't have, so don't use a debit card. Very rarely use cash. My cash back cc pays for just about everything. I don't use my cell phone for banking. However, on my laptop I take care of such and have just about all my bills on auto pay.
 
Well the idea of "humanless" banking (even in branches) has been floating around for awhile, even before COVID. The bank closest to me had closed their branch for awhile. I have accounts and my SD box is there. Good thing I'd gotten a pack of checks out before the pandemic hit. I usually only use one check a month so I'm good for many months. The bank branch stayed closed for a couple of months with only ATMs were available. If I'm not mistaken, another branch in town stayed open but I never go there. I have accounts at another bank but most of the banking I do with them is online. Only a few of their branches in the area remained open and hours were cut.
 
Pecos said:
Ours is not closing, but it looks like I may need to start think about alternatives to our safe deposit box.

What are you folks doing to deal with this?
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I keep a small strongbox for important papers and another hiding place for cash.

The papers can all be replaced but it would be a small hassle to do it. The loss of the cash would pinch but it's really not much in the grand scheme of things.
 
Our hours have been decreased at the banks because of Covid.

I absolutely refuse to use Apple Pay or similar on my phone. Almost everything here is tap so I carry my CC in a metal card holder.

I’d hate to lose access to my safe deposit box. The only two times I have gone to the bank since March were to get $5 bills and loonies to spend at the Farmers Market. I did use one of the bills to buy a poppy.
 
News,

No, Banks Aren’t Closing Tons Of Branches During The Pandemic.​


When the coronavirus started to impact life in the United States, banks and credit unions didn’t immediately shut down. Deemed essential businesses when state and local stay-at-home orders were enacted this spring, most financial institutions maintained in-person service in some form.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adviso...branches-during-the-pandemic/?sh=194347d04042
 
hollydolly said:
We've never had banks in our supermarkets.. ATM's yes... but banks no...
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It was becoming quite common in this area, although that has come to a screeching halt. Another store within a store concept that has become quite common is Subway restaurants have found there way inside the larger big box stores/restaurants.
 
Yes and no. Our banks are still open with social distancing lines. If you need to really talk to someone you must call for an appointment. ATMs are always open. One branch closed from last April until August but has reopened and we have bank branches in certain grocery stores.
 
I have been doing all my banking with a large federal credit union for over 30 +years. I have never seen the actual bank building. In fact, it was way before internet banking. You could use your phone to move funds, etc. I just can't imaging what banking you do that can't be transacted va the net. Yup, officerripley, I can not only get cashier's checks, they'll mail 'em out for me- free. Maybe my needs are a lot more modest than your financial needs, but I don't think you need to scour the country side to find that kind of bank. There's plenty online. And that's probably why small town banks are closing.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I have been doing all my banking with a large federal credit union for over 30 +years. I have never seen the actual bank building. In fact, it was way before internet banking. You could use your phone to move funds, etc. I just can't imaging what banking you do that can't be transacted va the net. Yup, officerripley, I can not only get cashier's checks, they'll mail 'em out for me- free. Maybe my needs are a lot more modest than your financial needs, but I don't think you need to scour the country side to find that kind of bank. There's plenty online. And that's probably why small town banks are closing.
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Well, I finally called today--took forever to even get the right number to call--and they (Wells Fargo) told me that I'll have to make an apptmt & go in to my nearest branch to get the cashiers checks done. Also, no way of doing a safe deposit box online.
 
We had a couple of Wells Fargo accounts years ago and closed them out. We still have a safe deposit box at one Wells Fargo location which is still open. The one closest to my house has been shut down since Covid. My local Bank of the West is still open for business, but I only use the drive up when I need to go there.
 
At my bank the drive-up windows are open and the lobby is by appointment. We are going into a two week freeze. I assume at that point the lobby will be closed. I live in the boonies. The closest bank is 25 miles away.
 
The inability to access you safety deposit box, when you need it, is most concerning. My wife had to recently renew her drivers license while her SS card, private documents, passport, etc. were in the SD box at the bank. With Covid shut down, reduced hours of operation and then finally making an appointment to get into and gain access to the box, became an timely issue for her. Since the service of providing a safety Deposit box to the banks patrons is not a rewarding venture or service for the bank, they are typically not too accommodating. With the apparent reduction in the number of bank branches, I don't expect this service to be available too much longer or at the least no additional boxes will be provided.
SO, I finally purchased a safe and built it into a secure area and disguised it so, we are good to go for now. But I realize not everyone can or would want to do that, but planning ahead to secure you confidential papers and document is really a necessity today.
 
needshave said:
The inability to access you safety deposit box, when you need it, is most concerning. My wife had to recently renew her drivers license while her SS card, private documents, passport, etc. were in the SD box at the bank. With Covid shut down, reduced hours of operation and then finally making an appointment to get into and gain access to the box, became an timely issue for her. Since the service of providing a safety Deposit box to the banks patrons is not a rewarding venture or service for the bank, they are typically not too accommodating. With the apparent reduction in the number of bank branches, I don't expect this service to be available too much longer or at the least no additional boxes will be provided.
SO, I finally purchased a safe and built it into a secure area and disguised it so, we are good to go for now. But I realize not everyone can or would want to do that, but planning ahead to secure you confidential papers and document is really a necessity today.
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Yeah, I may need to re-think what the lawyer told me and put all important papers into our safe if it's going to more & more be a problem to access a SD box. Our safe is pretty big (5' H x 2'W x 2'D) but every so often we hear around here about somebody breaking into a home or business & if they get enough guys together, they can together pick up a safe that big, load it into the back of a pickup, drive it out to a field & shoot at it 'till it opens.

I heard an ideal situation is having a safe that nobody knows you have. One way I heard is to have an excavator or somebody dig a hole in your backyard, drop a safe down into the hole with the door facing up, pour cement in around the safe, then cover the safe up with those temporary, interlocking, rubber tiles that some people put down instead of a patio. Then put a coupla lawn chairs & a table and voila, you've got a safe that's easy enough for you to get to when you need it but nobody knows it's there. Or if possible sink it down into a floor in your house & cover it up. But unfortunately, a lot of people can't do that, so that's what's too bad about the safe dep boxes maybe going bye-bye. (It's always something, isn't it?)
 
Regions bank here requires you to call for an appointment if you need to go inside.
The drive up window is still functional and you can make deposits/get cash at the ATM outside.
 

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