| Schwab has been the only bank I have ever dealt with, and I have no intention of moving away. They are a professionally run outfit with focus on all the right things. As mentioned, the customer service is stellar. I have never had to be on hold much more than a few minutes and the person on the other end has always been engaged and knowledgeable, all the while remaining totally professional. I think this image of them was cemented for me when I found that their hold "music" was that Friday's jobs report! The website is not great on the usability front and some things are placed in questionable locations. The search functionality is also frustrating and obtuse many times. The same is true of the mobile app. However, they are functionally more than sufficient and work perfectly fine. And, worst case, you can always just call them or do the online chat. I think they are on the more expensive side as a brokerage, but their integration there is satisfactory (that being said, I am not an active investor) They also don't nickel and dime you on things. I was amazed when I found out that other banks charge for getting extra checks and a checkbook. Admittedly, checks are in less and less use these days, but you still need them sometimes. Schwab offers unlimited checks for free. Spare debit cards may be charged, but I am not sure. I have not lost my debit card (yet!) The bank side is located in Reno, NV, so any checks have to be mailed there. However, this isn't entirely true. Schwab does have physical locations to serve their brokerage clients and since the Checking account requires a brokerage account (although it doesn't require it to be funded), you can still use their physical locations to deposit and withdraw money, and then move it around online or on the app. |
You can use the smartphone app to deposit checks just by taking a photo now, actually.