I moved here to TV about 5 years. I did my banking at BBandT in Greensboro, NC. I used the same account and just changed the addresses on the checks I ordered. Worked out fine on both ends. Then I suspected that some idiot from who knows where tried to hack me online. The BBandT just changed the numbers on my account and all's been well since. Kay.

There is something magical about being able to speak to a local, human being.

I am in the process of dealing with a government organization. No phone that anyone will answer. Only option on line chat. You wait almost an hour. Your on line chat is with
#4008. You get no help. You get a note your time has expired. I do wonder if 4008 is human or artificial intelligence.

I withdrew $500 cash from a live teller in South Florida...
 

back in 99. She wanted an explanation from me and it felt like an interrogation. This was before the senior scams were common and I was not a senior.

Citizens is the best. Pays the most interest. I switched to Chase. Terrible ATM and pays very low interest. They all don't pay much these days but I found Citizens First Bank is best over all. 352-753-9515

Why in the world would she even ask for an explanation if you are known to the bank as a customer?

Our out of town bank has an arrangement where we are never charged for ATM withdrawals from any domestic bank.

Now that we do not use cash these days almost never have to take out from an ATM but it is nice to have.

It was strange and intrusive
 

that's why I posted the story here over 20 years later.

I recommend Citizens First Bank. We did the same thing 24 years ago and have been very pleased with the bank and how it has grown.

We moved to the Villages over 8 years ago and opened an account with Citizens First because of our mortgage. We prefer using Credit Unions. We found they are usually very friendly and most of the times there is no charge for checking and no crazy minimums. We refinanced our mortgage with them and got a much better rate! There are a lot of choices here, we have accounts with Vystar, Campus USA, and Fairwinds. All are Credit Unions. They offer the same things that regular banks do.

[QUOTE=Westie Man;1917036]that's why I posted the story here over 20 years later.[/
///

We would and have chosen Citizen's First. Very trustworthy. Been using them for sixteen years now.

What is a "politically exposed person" and how would being one affect a bank's willingness to allow you to open a new account?

kathy

It wouldn't necessarily affect the willingness of a bank to open an account, it would affect things like whether an employee of the bank would be able to see the customer details.

Unless Things Have Changed...
 

... just after you close on the purchase of your new Villages home, you’ll be scheduled to stop at the Citizens First new accounts desk right in the Closing Department. They used to open a checking account with a $25 deposit (one of the only “freebies” you’ll get from the Developer). Remember, among the variety of businesses owned by our Developer is the bank.

Actually, Citizens First is a pretty good banking choice. They have by far the friendliest and most extensive number of branch offices. And every mail station in The Villages has a Citizens First ATM.

I have a Citizens First account as I used it for the ease of transferring the money at closing. I also like driving thru the ATM in my golf cart and they own the ATMs at the postal stations. Don't forget if you are going to license the car in FL, you need FL auto insurance before they will hand over the keys.

I was in a similar situation two weeks ago. I was purchasing a used car from a dealership in Orlando. (I am the first owner, but there are 4000 dealership miles on the car)
They would accept a check, but it had to be from a Florida account.
So I think you are right.

The best way to pay for a large purchase, and take immediate possession of the item, is to make a wire transfer. Charles Schwab will do these for clients with an account. It takes only minutes and you do it at your own computer.

You need the routing number, the account number, and the name of the bank of the transferee(seller). The routing number is the first set of numbers at the bottom left of the transferee's check and the account number the next set. Be careful, as once you push the button, the transfer is made (actually, there is a human at Schwab who will be involved and errors can be corrected if done quickly). My sister-in-law once transposed a digit in her account number and I sent off funds to pay for a farm deal. Fortunately, the number she gave me did not match any account at the bank. However, my money circulated in the ether for a few days and her bank charged me a fee as if it was a bounced check.

Schwab offers this as a service without charge. In addition, Schwab offers free checking and debit cards. The only disadvantage is that it has neither cash at its offices nor its own ATM's. Instead, as another poster mentioned, you use other bank's ATM's and Schwab refunds their fee. I don't know if there is a minimum balance required in the account to qualify for these "freebies".

Also agree !

I have used ATMs in many countries free with my Schwab ATM card. Lost a card in Turkey and they offered to overnight a new one to me for free!

Haven’t been inside a bank in years. With mobile apps, you can deposit checks, pay bills, statements for tax purposes, and transfer money. We use Chase, and BOA, both in our home state had branches open in 2020.
We opened a Citizen’s First in 2010, but when I want to transfer money in or out the cost was outrageous. For tax purposes they are still paper statements. But many go for the popcorn

our BOA acct here is useless. the nearest atm is MILES away, & i agree with the poor service policy during covid. all we needed to do was set up an executor acct., & since my bro-in-law has worked there aprox 20yrs, i figured it would be easy. they even gave him a hard time, & we just ended up going with Fidelity. i'm using them & citizen's bank & can't beat them for convenience-they're just about everywhere here

Community banks or credit unions.

Banks generally have policies and procedures to protect seniors against Elder Abuse. If a known, senior customer makes a withdrawal that is out of their normal pattern, the teller may ask questions to screen for potential abuse (ie to determine if the customer is being scammed into giving money to someone).

So many regulations and policies may make a bank look like they are being too nosy but basically they are required to 1) Know their Customers (KYC) - are they who they say they are, not on a banned foreign nationals or politically exposed persons list etc , 2) know the sources and uses of funds to prevent money laundering, financing criminal activity etc. particularly with mortgages etc, the loan underwriting will inquire about the sources of all funds used for the down payment even if under $10k. as that is a potential venue for money laundering and 3) protect vulnerable customers from fraudulent scams.

Politically exposed Person
 

From Google: a Politically Exposed Person is someone who, through their prominent position or influence, is more susceptible to being involved in bribery or corruption.

Omg, I just hung up with Bank of America, which was the bank we chose to open a checking account at here in The Villages. We have a BofA we can also use up north. We opened the account 02/17 and still haven’t received our checks, although we made clear that was our only reason for opening the account here. I emailed her on 2/19 to verify they were ordering the checks with the Florida address. No response. I emailed again this week and she finally responded. They told me 2 days ago they would put a rush on the check order and she JUST NOW called to verify our address. I received my ATM card here the week after we opened the account. This was the branch up by 466.