<p>I was wondering what parents are doing to fund their child's account at Bank of America. I thought of opening a local account, putting in $500 (or whatever the minimum is), putting both parents and child's name on the account so that I can add money as needed. My husband thought it was a good idea to get a credit card in our son's name to build up a credit history. What are other parents doing?</p>
<p>FWIW- We use USC Credit Union-</p>
<p>S has a USC Credit Union account in his name only- Cardinal Checking- free for students.</p>
<p>There is no wire transfer fee for this process-
I make deposits by faxing USC Credit Union a form they gave me from ACH- Automated Clearing House. This withdraws money from my checking (different bank) and deposits the designated amount to his account at USC Credit Union. Neither my bank nor the USC Credit Union charges a fee for this. When I fax the request, they usually make the deposit within 1 day. It is very convenient and we have had no problems with this system. (The no-charge status at my bank may have something to do with keeping a minimum balance so double check with your bank. But I know his balance will go to zero, I'll make a deposit, and he does not get charged for that deposit/transfer.)</p>
<p>The only fees on his account are if he uses his ATM card for a purchase ($1) or if he withdraws money at a non USC Credit Union ATM machine ($1). The real advantage to using USC Credit Union is there are many ATMs all over campus so they should not incur any ATM fees.</p>
<p>He also got a student credit card through them to start building credit.</p>
<p>We opened a BofA account in our son's name at home, and we just deposit money in our BofA branch here at home. You don't need to have a parent's name on the account to deposit money ... only to withdraw.</p>
<p>If your son already has a credit union account, you might check to see if it is part of the credit union network. If it is, then you can possibly use the existing account to do any transaction at USC Credit Union. Our son has a credit union account that allows him to use the USC credit union ATMs to withdraw money without a fee. So he has his Oregon BofA account for deposits/withdrawals and his Oregon credit union account for withdrawals. He did get a VISA card through BofA in his own name so he could establish his own credit (via the college student package). We thought of opening a USC Credit Union account, but found it wasn't necessary.</p>
<p>Do you have an understanding with your child that you will deposit x amount of dollars every month to the B of A account? Is it free to open a USC credit union account?</p>
<p>My parents and I have a joint account because I was underage. They usually wire money every couple of months that includes tuition and some on the side for sundry expenses. I have a credit card as well, although I don't use it much except for some big purchases.</p>
<p>Mom-of_3: It sounds like you have your own BofA account; is that right? My son opened an account in his name only and when I tried to deposit a check for him, I was told I couldn't do that unless he endorsed the check first (since it is "his" account) -- but that "rule" would not apply if I also had a BofA account.</p>
<p>Well, the whole point of our choosing to open his student checking account at BofA was that it has offices in both our home state and the state where his school is (ont he other side of the country). I had planned to just make deposits here as needed so that he would have quick access to the money there. But since BofA requires him to endorse any deposited checks, I will have to use snail mail to get the checks to him and then he will have to deposit them. </p>
<p>What a pain! This is a perfect example of why I do NOT have a BofA account -- and never will!</p>
<p>I have a B of A acct in my home state, and my daughter has her own account in CA. I am able to transfer money to her acct. directly online--it is so easy. I do not use online banking for anything else as I am old-fashioned, and like a paper trail. This has been the easiest, fastest and safest way for her to get $. (When mailing checks to USC area, you always have to worry about them getting stolen!) I highly recommend this method.</p>
<p>I have a B of A account, so we opened a "linked" account for S. I can transfer funds to his account from mine by phone or online, and there are no fees. He decided to start with a debit card instead of a credit card.</p>
<p>Worried_Mom:</p>
<p>Hmmm. I don't have a BofA account. My son is the only one in our family who does. I have not had any problem depositing money into his account for him. I just fill out the deposit slip with his account number and make the deposit. I do the same for my other two who have Wells Fargo accounts as they go to school in Arizona. I could be wrong, but most banks don't care if you deposit personal checks made out to the account holder into their account, that hasn't been endorsed.</p>
<p>mdcissp:</p>
<p>I don't know if you were directing your question about depositing x dollars per month into our son's account to me. We actually only deposit money if he has an emergency and needs more. That has happened very infrequently as we sat down at the beginning of each semester and tried to estimate what he needed and then made sure he had that amount in his account.</p>
<p>Since he was on a meal plan, he really didn't have that many expenses other than books and miscellaneous things like movies, snacks, meals that weren't covered by his meal plan, etc.</p>
<p>Since Worried_mom had a problem depositing money to her son's account, I would check with your local BofA to make sure you can do that if you are still thinking of having your son open a BofA account. Perhaps our local branch is more lenient in that regard.</p>
<p>I believe the USC credit union accounts are free for students, except you have to become a member ... which is only $10.</p>
<p>Mom<em>of</em>3: You're right that MOST banks don't care about depositing unendorsed checks. I do it all the time with my other sons' accounts at Compass Bank and Wells Fargo and have had no problems whatsoever. That's why I never thought to ask about it when we opened my son's account at BofA.</p>
<p>But here in AZ, BofA won't let me deposit the check without my son's endorsement because I don't have a BofA account. And I spent quite a bit of time on the phone afterwards talking to a "Customer Service" representative (now there's a misnomer!) who told me that it was BofA's stated policy, so it wasn't just that particular teller who was creating the problem.</p>
<p>Just a thought (and I know I shouldn't butt in) but I wonder if those of you with B of A accts in your kid's name (like worried-mom) might be able to add your own name to make it a joint-account. Wouldn't that allow you to make deposits without hassle?</p>
<p>Sorry if this suggestion is just dumb. Our S has a credit card (on one of our accounts) that he uses for permitted expenses--like haircuts. We've done this since 10th grade and we look at charges at the end of each month. He's always been trustworthy and there is a low cap on this account just in case.</p>
<p>He will get his own cc to establish his own credit next year, as many of you have mentioned. He's also hoping to get a job on campus and I understand they deposit earnings directly into a kids' USC credit union account, so that's probably the new bank account he'll open. The ATMs with free withdrawal on campus are also a great convenience. </p>
<p>But we live in the LA area and I know this topic is not so stressful when we are close by. Wishing you all good solutions to the money ??s.</p>