I use online only banks for savings. Getting 3% and 4%z. I use Synchrony and Marcus by Goldman Sachs. For brick & mortar, I use TD. I’ve been there twice in 8 years.

Thank you everyone
 

What a great community where people are so willing to help! The advise I have been able to receive on this forum in this and other matters is priceless! Thank you all so much!!!!

not to start an argument here, but i was VERY upset the way boa treated me when 2 of the accounts were 'hacked' by a fraudulent zelle transaction. the people working @ the bank were very caring & understanding, but the overall experience with the managing of the accounts was awful. 1st thing they told me was it's very common for zelle to 'hacked' for lack of better word. it's also common to expect a 50/50 chance of getting our money back after any disputes. they told me i was compromised by a gasoline pump scanner: the info of the card in question was used to get access to the accounts. despite my many inquiries, the only help i REALLY got was from the wildwood police, who told me i need to give their fraud team the full 45 days to investigate, then come back to them if funds are not replenished. here's the catch-boa absolves themselves by stating zelle is a 3rd party app., & not responsible. so i find out who owns zelle, & it's BOA, Wells fargo, Truist, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank. something fishy here, so now i'm curious to know if anyone else here has gone thru the same thing?? Citizen's handles fraud by scanning transactions, & if an 'odd' charge shows up, they shut the entire acct down until a new card is issued. when all is said & done, i'm sticking with citizens

Every Postal Station? Not any more...

I saw one on Hillsborough, but there are none farther south that I've found...

Hi, I am also from Connecticut. What I did was research which banks were in my Connecticut town & which were also in The Villages. I found several, & I chose Bank of America. I closed out my local Connecticut bank accounts after opening new accounts at a Bank of America office. A good reason for doing this ahead of time is that Banks these days have 'know your customer' regulations, they don't impact us much, but for accounts less than 90 days on their books they do delay the availability of deposited checks. Also, if you take care of automated deposits ahead of time it relieves some of the 'to do' items during moving, plus if you get checks you will have the time to receive the new checkbooks. Good luck in your new house.

I think that Citizens First Bank customers can use the Presto ATMs for free. They are located at all 10 of the Publix stores, including Lake Deaton Plaza and Magnolia Plaza.

Better still is to buy ibonds and t-bills direct from the US government at Home — TreasuryDirect. Current 6 month t-bills around 4%, ibonds ($10,000 per year limit, but can go to $20,000 with spouse) was around 9%, think it just reset to 6%. No fees.

Plenty of good articles on this (I like the WSJ) if you google it.

Yes Citizens First can use the Presto ATM's for free. I've done that many times.

Not what I was talking about, but good to know...

I got with Mid Florida credit union. Got a nice $200 bonus for setting up a direct deposit.

It IS very common for your money to be stolen via Zelle. No one is hacking you. "Hack" is the wrong term for it. But yes that's a very common thing. Zelle, Venmo - any time you transfer money directly from your account to another individual person's account is risky. Every single time. That's why senior advocates warn people not to do it. When you transfer money directly, you are withdrawing it from your account and depositing it into someone else's account. Your money is gone. And every time you do it, you are giving everyone standing near you the opportunity to retrieve that information and grab a few bucks for themselves at your expense. If you do it over the phone, you're running the risk of the data being intercepted along the way. If you do it via the internet, you run the same risk.

If you want to ensure that your money doesn't end up in the wrong persons' pockets, stop using those services and be more protective of your bank accounts. You can use the tap feature in most gas stations these days, instead of inserting the card at all. If you have google pay or apple pay, many stations have the technology for you to just hold your phone against the black plate with your NFC switch turned on after you've used your thumbprint or facial recognition program to open the app.

Developer-owned Citizens First has on-line banking, numerous branches, and ATM machines at the postal stations and so is a convenient choice for a low-balance checking account. (Plus Citizens First has popcorn machines in its lobbies.::angel::angel: )

However, apparently hoping that residents like popcorn and won't comparison shop, Citizens First pays pathetically low interest on savings accounts and CDs and should NOT be used for those. (E.g., 1.77% apy on an 18-month CD, which is less than 1/2 what you can get elsewhere.) For such accounts, check the internet for banks paying the highest rates on FDIC-insured accounts, and put your money there.

Actually, the I Bond rate is now 6.89%, BUT ONLY FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS. Annually: You can buy $10,000 in your name, $10,000 in your spouse's name, AND if you each have a trust, $10,000 for each trust. Plus, you do not have to pay tax on the interest until you redeem it. But research redemption restrictions (and the ability to defer tax on the interest) and understand what you are buying.

discover.com