<p>Anyone know which banks have tellers at the Ferguson Center?</p>
<p>From another thread…</p>
<p>"The following Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are located on the east side of the building outside the theater: </p>
<p>Regions, Alabama Credit Union, BBVA Compass, BB&T 24</p>
<p>Wells Fargo also has a store and ATM (their term for “branch”) on the Strip. Regions also has an ATM on the Strip (next to Gallette’s)."</p>
<p>Alabama Credit Union has an association with over many, many other credit unions (about 4500)…so check if your credit union will work. We belong to 3 credit unions and they all work with Alabama Credit union. </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.creditunion.net/]CUServiceCenter.com[/url”>http://www.creditunion.net/]CUServiceCenter.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Following my DD’s Honors College visit last week we went to Ferguson for coffee at Starbucks. Even though she is only a junior, she is almost certain UA is the one. Given this, I wanted some information about accounts since our bank (BofA) doesn’t have any branches near Tuscaloosa. </p>
<p>The CU office is a “real” branch with tellers and bankers - except no safe deposit boxes. There is also an ATM outside of Ferguson, next to the ones noted by M2CK above. We also saw a CU ATM at the rec center. They give free student accounts. The only wrinkle is the age of majority is 19 in Alabama, so the account must be co-owned with a parent at least until then. DD already has her own checking account and debit card that she will continue to use, but if she is going to be so far from home, I want her to be able to “walk in” to a branch and get money on her signature in case her purse is stolen with all of her cards.</p>
<p>If you live in the south and bank at Regions, you are lucky. There is branch just off of campus as well as the ATM at Ferguson.</p>
<p>We live in Charlotte, home of BOA but my son will be banking at Wells Fargo next year at UA. Do you have Wells in Chicago?</p>
<p>Crimson - Wells has stayed out of the Chicago retail banking arena. They have a commercial lending office, mortgage lending offices and securities offices (the old Wachovia Securities) - but no branch banks. They do have some branches in Illinois - primarily in the “Quad Cities” area on the Iowa border 150 miles away. </p>
<p>I don’t know why Wells never joined the acquisition derby in Chicago. The banking landscape in Illinois is rather unique because for over 100 years banks could only have a couple of branches. These restrictions were finally overridden by federal law after the S&L crisis 20+ years ago. As of today there are still 574 separately chartered banks in the state.</p>
<p>Our oldest S is a senior at a college in a small city where there are no national banks. Our personal bank is a local bank anyway. But he’s done just fine with his ATM card from our home bank. We are on his account for ease of transferring money. The only issue was when he (finally) started working part-part-time for the university. But he just cashes his paychecks when he gets them. </p>
<p>I think we will probably take the same route at UA with our D, but if needed we will get her an account at the CU. Or maybe we will set it up at BB just to have it ready.</p>
<p>Does anyone bank at PNC bank? I think that I saw a branch right off campus. I’m assuming they have a money machine.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a PNC branch and ATM at 331 University. They also have a couple other locations in Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>PNC Bank took over the US operations of RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), which had a few branches in Tuscaloosa, including the one ChicagoBear mentioned which is near St. Francis Catholic Church and Baptist Campus Ministries between Moody Music Building and the Quad.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any obvious pros and cons between banking with Wells Fargo or Alabama Credit Union?</p>
<p>I am currently with TIC FCU, which is a member of the same network as ACU. So that helps out.</p>
<p>The only obvious things that I can think of is that ACU provides a free checking account with no monthly service fee, whereas WF needs a $100 opening fee and a $7 monthly service fee. To me it seems as if banking with ACU would be the wisest choice. </p>
<p>Am I overlooking anything?
Thanks,
AJ</p>
<p>You might consider staying with Bank of America, there are no fees for college accounts, there is 100% protection on debit cards, there is quick replacement of lost/stolen cards even overseas, and you can always keep checks handy for emergency purchases. Having a checking account in the student’s name only helps to establish a good banking record.</p>
<p>*No, I do not work for BofA.</p>
<p>Does your family already have a banking relationship with Wells Fargo? I see no point in paying a $7 monthly service fee for a checking account that won’t have a lot of money in it. You don’t even need to have a local account except for depositing checks. Alabama Credit Union ATMs should be free with your TIC FCU debit card for the rare times when you’d need cash or you can just get cash back at the grocery store. I can’t think of any place in Tuscaloosa where one would need a check that doesn’t accept cash, credit, or debit. The only things that might require a check would be fraternity dues and rent, and even then you could use online billpay or have your parents write a check.</p>
<p>IIRC, VISA provides 100% fraud protection on its credit and debit cards.</p>
<p>^^^Sea_tide: yes, today there is no need for a “local” bank, you can do all your banking online and parents can even deposit money at a local branch into their student’s account (should the need arise). Checks can often be deposited via smart phones and if the student has a job, they can always opt for direct pay deposits.</p>
<p>Thank you. I had similar thoughts. It looks like ACU would be the best choice.</p>
<p>Both of my kids primary accounts are with our main “home” bank, which as noted above is very convenient for immediate transfer of funds. While about 90% of their transactions are on those accounts, I insist upon a small account with a bank with a local office - just in case. (Because for some reason, even though our “home” bank is BofA, both kids attend/will attend schools where there is no BofA branch within 100 miles!)</p>
<p>Last year DS, who goes to college in Ohio, temporarily “lost” his wallet. Of course two debit cards, his student ID, drivers license and the emergency credit card were in the wallet. Once he realized that his wallet was missing, he was able to go to the student credit union at his school and withdraw one hundred dollars in person since replacement cards would take a couple days. Fortunately, before we called all the banks to cancel/reissue the cards, I had him check with lost & found - luckily, the library janitor had found the wallet and turned it in with all his funds and cards intact.</p>
<p>I figure that the peace of mind, combined with avoiding ATM surcharge fees when they need some currency, is well worth opening a small account at a local bank/branch/credit union.</p>
<p>I believe Regions Bank has a branch across the street from Mary Burke dorm.</p>