<p>My son received information in the mail today about three banks in Ithaca that offer banking services geared to students. They are: Bank of America; M & T Bank; and Tompkins Trust. Any current Cornell students have accounts at any of these three banks? Also, is it really necessary for an out-of-state student to have an account at a local bank? What about convenience? Any information, postive or negative, is appreciated.</p>
<p>M&T has ATMs and offices all over campus and Collegetown. It's the most convenient and the majority of students use them. The downside is that you need to have a min. of $500 in your account or they charge you a fee.</p>
<p>Bank of America has one office in the Commons and one ATM in Collegetown. If you need cash on the fly as a freshman, you have to travel all the way down to ctown to the ATM if you dont want those BS service charges. I rarely found myself using cash however because I put everything on bursar (thanks dad). I use this because they are the only bank of the three that also has an office at my home. This bank is full of idiots. A retarded watermelon could provide better customer service. They don't charge any fees if your account balance dips beneath a certain level.</p>
<p>I'm not very familiar with Tompkins Trust but they're very local. I doubt they have many offices outside of the county. I'm sure you can check their website for info regarding that.</p>
<p>My brother uses HSBC.</p>
<p>I use HSBC. They offer free checking and have an ATM on campus and branches downtown. Their online capabilities and customer service are MUCH better than M&T. </p>
<p>BTW M&T does have free checking with no minimum.</p>
<p>What is HSBC?</p>
<p>i use M&T at home, so i'll likely use M&T at Cornell</p>
<p>I use M&T. Pretty convenient while I'm at school since they have a branch on campus and numerous ATMs everywhere. It's a little bit of a pain once I come home since there are no M&T ATM's or banks in California so I can't access my money unless I do an online transfer. So it gives me an excuse to spend my parents' money:)</p>
<p>I had M&T thinking that a smaller regional bank would offer better service, but I have found that this is not the case. I switched to HSBC and have found that their technology, service, and know-how are much better.</p>
<p>
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, a 140 year-old bank headquartered in London. ;)</p>
<p>Just interned there recently; sorry for the needless trivia.</p>