So My 17 Can Open a Checking Account But NOT a Saving Account at BOA

[my2sense]

What does that tell you about these corporations. Savings have no liability to them thus, wouldn't it make more sense that he would be allowed to open this type of an account versus a checking. I hate big banks.........off to find a local bank to do business with.

[county worker]

1. Go to a credit union. You have to open a savings account to get a checking account.

You usually need to keep $5.00 in the savings account to have a checking account at a credit union.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Our credit unioin automatically opens a savings account

whenever you open any account, even a money market.

[cilla4progress]

21. Hmm....my didn't...

Pays 3.76% interest on the checking account though! I'm using it for my "investments" now!

I MOVED MY MONEY LAST WEEK and I couldn't be happier!

[Occulus]

31. Mine did.

Required a minimum $5 balance in savings to open both savings and checking.

[MerryBlooms]

32. That's the same with mine here

$5 has been in that savings account now for 15 years.

[madmax]

2. Figure a 17 year old will mess up his/her

check balancing and they will tack on charges to the max.

[pinto]

3. I'm an advocate for credit unions. Might be worth checking out one in your area.

Many have expanded "eligibility" beyond the old standards. :hi:

[my2sense]

4. Thanks-I'll check into the Credit Unions

[mikelgb]

7. not sure where you are at but

my credit union has free kids accounts this month

[MercutioATC]

18. Make sure it's NCUA insured (that's the FDIC for credit unions).

Some credit unions are insuring with private companies and deposits are not backed by the federal government.

[polichick]

5. Better to get him on track with community banks or credit unions anyway...

Maybe his generation will be wiser about these things than the last couple of generations.

[my2sense]

9. My only concern is accessibility when he goes off to college

Any advice? Are they online like most other banks.....do they charge high fees for ATM withdrawals?

[polichick]

11. Maybe the thing to do is have a big bank checking account for now...

...and a savings account at a community bank or credit union - I must admit that the big banks are very accessible for college kids, with cash machines right on campus.

[virgogal]

15. My credit union belongs to a network and I've used my ATM card in Europe.

No charge------if I go outside the network there is a fee but,of course,I have never done that.

[virgogal]

16. My CU uses NYCE and CIRRUS networks for the ATM card and they are worldwide.

as I mentioned in my earlier post. No fee for these transactions.

[LuckyLib]

19. My daughter is a senior in college, and stayed with our credit union at home

these past 3.5 years. We have deposited $$ into her checking (ATM) account, and it worked fine. Only ran into problems when she needed to cash a check, and recently had to open an account with a local branch of a "national" bank in her college town.

[cilla4progress]

33. Totally accessible.

Debit card is VISA. For branch access, they do a kind of co-op with other banks, AND, they refund all ATM fees when you use out-of-system cash machines! (Plus the 3.76% interest on checking; I can't get over this. How do they do it?)

[FourScore]

8. My second grader can open a savings acct.

They offer it to all elementary kids through the school.

[my2sense]

10. Well, yes he can open a (Custodial) savings with my signature and management

But he was able to open a checking completely on his own.

[FourScore]

12. Ahh. k/r

[Turbineguy]

13. They don't get

the overdraft fees on savings accounts.

[grasswire]

14. better read this column in yesterday's paper

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2010/02/for_the_banks_it_isnt_personal.html


It's about BofA and a teenager.

[BrklynLiberal]

22. I have a "debit" card from my bank..which can also be used as a VISA card.

I recently found out..the hard way..that if it is used as a credit card...rather than a debit card...the bank will ALWAYS accept the charge and then apply an overdraft fee to your account. If you use it as a debit card, they will reject a charge that is not covered by your balance.

So if you are in a situation in which you doubt your bank balance, never, ever use your debit card in its credit form. Which of course means, you cannot use it anywhere that a DEBIT card is not accepted. That means you have to enter your 'PIN number..
If you are not asked for your pin number, it is being charged as a credit card.

[FarCenter]

27. No, it is being used as a PIN debit card and as a signature debit card

When you use a debit card with a PIN input the transaction goes through the networks that connect the banks' ATMs together. It is debited from your checking account and the merchant is charged a fairly small fee, like 15 cents.

When you use a debit card with signature, then the transaction goes through the Visa or Mastercard network. It still is debited immediately from your checking account and the merchant is charged a fairly hefty fee, like it was a credit card.

Some cards can also be used as actual credit cards. In this case it goes through the Visa or Mastercard network, but the charge is applied to your credit card account -- it is not debited from your checking account. The merchant would be charged the hefty fee for a credit card transaction. You would not be charged an overdraft fee. If you go over your available credit limit on the credit card account, the bank would apply an over limit fee.

[Luminous Animal]

17. Same with WAMU.

Back when there was a WAMU. I had to open a joint savings with her. They wouldn't let her open one in her own name.

[BrklynLiberal]

20. i remember trying to oopen a savings account for my son 30 years ago. I was shocked to find out

they expected a 7year old to maintain a minimum balance of over $100....

I wanted him to be able to put his loose change into it..as I had when in public school. Anyone else remember when we could open savings accounts thru school?

[Statistical]

23. DONT FEED THE BIG BANKS.

You get the financial system you support.

Support money hungry corrupt large banks and that is what you end up with.

[4lbs]

24. The banks don't make very much money off a person with a savings account.

Especially those that keep the balance above a certain daily/monthly minimum amount to avoid monthly "service charges".

They'd rather people have checking accounts so they can possibly collect overdraft fees, overdraft protection fees, check processing fees, and any other fees they can think of to make money.

[GoCubsGo]

25. That is odd...

When I opened a checking account there, they automatically opened a savings account AND gave me another credit card, this despite the fact that I already have one with them that I rarely use. I was opening it to have a place to deposit my unemployment checks that was more portable than the credit union where I keep the bulk of my money. LOL!!! They didn't even ask me if I wanted the VISA card. They just gave it to me. This was mid-2007, before the banking system was about to collapse. I have since canceled that new credit card.

[RB TexLa]

26. He can open a custodial savings account just like any account that is going to pay her or him

interest. Don't complain at the bank call your state rep and senator.

[my2sense]

28. Yes, I realize he can open a custodial savings, he was

attempting to open up a stand alone savings (without me) just as he is able to open a checking acount (without me).

Thanks to everyone with the suggestions.

[pitohui]

29. i opened a savings acct at age 8

i'm pretty sure you misunderstood what you were told

interest rates as soooo low that it costs banks almost nothing to offer savings accounts

you had a bad clerk, it doesn't mean every employee of boa is a shithead or an asshat, it means you talked to ONE new employee/know nothing employee -- or perhaps misunderstood totally what that person told you

your 17 yr old can get both types of accounts plus CDs etc, it isn't renting porn films

did u get the lecture about "you do understand that he can close this account or remove all the money w/out you present?" and misunderstand this to mean the acct was not allowed?

[KingFlorez]

30. The banks profit comes from errors

They figure a teen would be more prone to making mistakes on their account. Now, more than ever, they are relying on overdraft fees.