Banking
 

We currently live in South Carolina, will be moving to TV next year and have Sun Trust accounts. Since their merger with BB&T, the new account fees for checking will run as high as $ 20.00 per month. Are there better options including local banking in TV?

Not sure what you mean. I have had BB&T accounts for more than 20 years, and never pay any fees for the accounts. I have a free senior checking account that even provides free checks. I also have a BB&T rewards VISA credit card with no annual fee. It is very convenient to pay the credit card bill by just transferring money between two BB&T accounts online.

We get a better deal with our old bank in Virginia so plan to stay with them for now.

With remote deposits and everything being paid with CC have not found a need for a local bank.

If you are going to change banks, I think the most accessible bank is Citizens First. They seem to have the most branches, and they also have ATM machines at some of The Villages mail pickup stations. I cannot imagine having to pay $20 per month for a checking account. Not me.

It's nice to have a banking relationship locally if for no other reason easy wire transfers as they are hard to initiate out of town, no charge bank checks, free fax service, free notary public service, easy to cash a check if the need arises, lots of little things like that.

I like Citizens First, myself. They call me if a large check is written, make sure I was OK with it. They keep fraud as much at bay as possible. They always answer the phone in person even during Covid. Because I travel extensively I have 3 US banks at present and 5 foreign banks but I like Citizen’s service best and Wells Fargo the absolute least.

:clap2: At one time free apples! :icon_wink: Now just :popcorn:

I once got a set of Corningware to buy a CD. Those days are gone.

Thanks have considered most of that.

Easy to do wire transfers with them from here, no cost for checks and can easily transfer funds electronically.

Can fax by computer using an interesting service called efax. Allows me to send and receive faxes anywhere in the world.

The only thing we are missing is safe deposit box and we are considering purchasing a safe.

Our primary banking institution down here in TV is the Campus USA Credit Union. We use this bank for all of our incoming direct deposits and for our 'bill payer' activity. There's a branch near Brownwood on Rt 44 and another just over the line in Summerfield on Rt 441/27.
We still maintain accounts with a Credit Union up north, as that's were my business accounts are and this makes it easy to transfer $$$ when needed between them.

When we first relocated full time to FL we only had the credit union up north...once and awhile scanning checks in became a hassle and we needed a bank with a safety deposit box nearby....so eventually we made the leap and went local

We have 'mad money' in People's First Bank in TV, lots of branches...we also rent a safety deposit box from them. When we had a mortgage we used them.

We have had accounts with Chase and Sun Trust since relocating to TV but we didn't care for the 'big bank' experience so we closed those accounts.

Have used VyStar credit union for over 40 years as primary checking and savings account. Have one branch on 466a but a large network of free atm’s. Never had any issues.

Same here. No checking account fees. Free notary service. They couldn’t be nicer.

And notary service not to mention free popcorn.

I like Citizen Bank as well. In addition to agreeing with the other posters, if you have an issue with your debit or credit card and call the bank you are working with someone local.

My old bank offered free cookies on Fridays, when we are able to visit they will owe me quite a few cookies/

Have nothing to notarized so not something we need

Remember the FDIC insures each account up to $250,000. You may need more than one bank. :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: I hope you need a whole lot of banks.

Is Citizens First owned by the developer? I noticed how big of a presence they had locally when we did our Lifestyle Visit. Their website uses a lot of the same font also

When we move we'll probably switch to them since I haven't heard any complaints yet. Love the idea of having a bank that's truly local.

It is owned by the developer

We use Citizens Bank and are very happy with their service and convenient locations. We also like getting interest on both our checking and savings accounts. My husband also liked getting a bag of popcorn when he goes in.

Its called direct deposit, most banks give free checking. I have had accounts saving/checking my whole adult life and have never paid any fees.:ho:

I use SunTrust here
 

I do not get charged one cent for my two accounts, but do maintain a 20K minimum there, had BB&T left them an idiot was the branch manager, when they merged, I went to my bank manager to inquire, she told me, no changes to my account EVER!!!!!!

Citizens First for me. Minimum balance is only $5K, so no bank fees. Safe deposit box about $50. annually. Lots of branches and free ATM’s at most Mail stations that also sell postage stamps. Electronic check deposit, so seldom a need to actually enter a bank. You can also get a “line of credit” with no application fees.

Citizens First. Been a customer for 19 years. They are great. As someone else stated they answer the phone with a human not a machine.

Ally or USAA, no minimums, free paper checks, bill pay, web access and 1% on savings :)

Tell me why anyone needs to make frequent visits to a stick-and-morter bank?

Not everyone feels comfortable using ATM machines, debit cards, or online banking. There are times when checks need to be cashed just to have the cash, a visit is required to open a CD or money market account, to get a certified check for a large purchase such as a new car, etc.

I use Campus Credit Union, too. Lobbies are open at this time. A limited number of folks can enter at one time. They have very good personal service. MidFlorida Credit Union has recently opened branches in TV in convenient locations. We were with them before we moved here. I would recommend them, too.

I have Suntrust and do not pay any fees for checking

We changed to Chase. We’re very happy with them, plenty of local branches. I’m not sure of their fee schedule, as a veteran we get everything free.

I had Suntrust when I moved here in 2006. I just kept my account. Have had no problems.

When BB&T bought out our bank up north I personally know 2 managers who left because their commercial customer service was so bad. They also downsized personnel. But our accounts stayed the same. With this buy-out I could bank here when we moved down permanently. But I've been impressed with Citizens and would change if I felt the hassles of changing were worth it.

I have BBT checking and do not pay any fees.

We stay away from any institution owned by The Villages, We do not have our eggs in one basket when choosing institutions. No offense to any institution or anybody. Same goes for Insurance we choose AAA

My opinion: Think twice before choosing Bank of America. The main issue "now" is that many of their centers are closed to in person in bank activities. You can continue to access the ATM's, safety deposit boxes and perform basic teller functions via the outdoor drive up windows but anything more complex; no. The nearest such full service branch to the Villages is on 14th in Leesburg. i have been told that this is due to Covid.
Now there may be other banks with more convenient full service branches. You might want to fold that into your thinking.

Banking
 

We used Suntrust for a while but moved to First Ave in Pinellas for convenience and interest. We had been planning to stay away from the developers bank (just thought they had enough of our dollars already) but, after defaulting to Citizens when First Ave in TV was bought....we have been happy there and stayed. We keep enough in to avoid fees and they are very helpful & convenient. Only minor annoyance, they seem to hold large checks for longer clearing time than my banks up North. We had been chasing MM interest rates but everywhere seems dismal now so we just leave those funds at Schwab (branch is in Sumter Landing).
We looked at Vystar and Campus Credit Unions but haven't taken the plunge yet so I'm glad to see some feedback on this thread.

I have been with BB&T for several years and a very satisfied customer. No charges whatsoever. I have no knowledge of what you speak. I suspect a misunderstanding as they want new customers not lose potential customers.

Just a note of caution, we were traveling overseas when I had my wallet stolen. When I tried to contact Citizens First to ask them to stop any transactions on my debit card until I returned home, I got a message back saying they would not do anything via email. Since they didn't answer my phone calls, I had to wait until I returned home. I no longer have their debit card. As comparison, my Credit Union up North replied to my email saying that they would stop my debit card and credit card until I returned. Bottom line - Citizens First may be great for local business, their ability to handle international requests is very weak.

Citizens bank
 

Nothing against Citizens but when I checked out their mortgage interest rates and found them to higher than their competition that was enough for me to take my business elsewhere. In full disclosure, it was a few years ago.

Do NOT use a commercial bank they do nothing for you. Do not use the villages owned bank either.

I use a credit union my printed statement is free there is no fees for anything as long as there is 5:00 in another account and I believe 500 in savings and mobile banking

Why people use commercial banking I don’t know unless they have their kids a debit cards connected to the account. I’ve never used a debit card in my life I am an accountant and don’t carry debt.

There is 3 large credit unions here and they have better hours than commercial banks !

Bank of America sun trust citizens PNC all of them are crooks ! I have 2 accounts back in MI that give me such amazing service I’d be crazy to leave them. I’ve been with one for 24 years and other one 15 yrs.
Prior to recession I received almost 2% on my savings and other account 1% and a bonus every year between 500-3000!

Their rates are so low for everything that commercial banks can’t compete ! As I read horrible service I’m keeping everything in place.

I don't know about every credit union, but I stopped using my Penfed VISA credit card because they take 2 to 3 days to post a credit card charge. My BB&T VISA card posts charges within seconds of the transaction, and sends me an email. Much safer.