<p>Hi all. I was just wondering if Smith has a bank within its campus (I know that Citizen's Bank is somewhere nearby, but is not within walking distance). Also, if you can provide any additional info with regards to the banking system, that would be great. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>MY D picked up a free checking acct from Bank of America which is down in the village, but a short walk. Smith also has a "vcard" which can be used at select stores in Northampton and on campus.........</p>
<p>Is Bank of America the only bank in walking distance?</p>
<p>Bank North and Bank of America are within walking distance. There's an Easthampton Savings Bank atm in the Campus Center (the only atm on campus). ESB isn't that close, though (about a mile or so away). There are a few other banks in the vicinity, but I think BankNorth and BoA are the easiest walks.</p>
<p>The OneCard is accepted at some places on and off campus, but you put cash on it, and cannot use it as a means to get cash.</p>
<p>There is a ridiculous number of banks in Northampton (with more going in everyday). Yes, bank of america and bank north are the closest, being right downtown, but there's a third bank going in on Main street where the Tofu restaraunt used to be. I think it's Easthampton Savings bank, but i'm not sure... I use Bank of America as my Noho bank (for depositing checks and such), but i also have an account with a bank in my hometown that my parents can access for expedited deposits. I reccommend an arrangement like that, or else you're going to spend a lot of time waiting for your folks to mail you checks.</p>
<p>Go to Florence Savings bank. for a local bank in the area, it's great. it's also a member of SUM with easthampton savings bank which means the ESB ATM is free of charge from either end. </p>
<p>and if i may speak to the "folks earning you checks"</p>
<p>earn your own damn spending money.</p>
<p>LOL Gleech. I was thinking along those same lines...my parents never make deposits into my account. If I REALLY need something they'll take care of it, but they don't take care of my "wants". That's what a job is for.</p>
<p>FYI, I know SaP and her parents and she is one of the hardest workers I know -- always earns her "own damn spending money." Pretty sure she's talking about needs, not wants.</p>
<p>Hey SaP, if you and your parents have accounts at the same bank at home, you can "join" them together so that your parents can make online transfers into your account anytime. I do that for my nephews. I'm their trustee -- scary huh?</p>
<p>BTW, there are no Wells Fargo bands in the Western Mass area and a Wells Fargo ATM card will not work to get cash at the ATM machine in the campus center. I got by without opening another account last year, but I'll probably end up opening one this year because it was kind of a hassle at times.</p>
<p>Umm, yeah, thanks laureldj. I do in fact earn my own spending money, in case either of the earlier judgemental posters were curious. I work over every break (I have two jobs right now) and I work while I'm at school (I had two jobs last year, I will have three jobs next fall), on top of my extra currics and academic work, so don't talk to me about earning my own way. I said nothing about my folks "earning" me checks. I said sending checks, as in for things I absolutely need. For example, my parents pay for my books (I'm sorry if this makes me seem too soft to you) with money they deposit into my account. It saves time and hassle for me to keep my joint account at home. Please don't go around judging other people without knowing the facts.</p>
<p>D banks at Bank North and it's a five minute walk, if that, from campus. We have a deep seated prejudice against B of A.</p>
<p>The situation hasn't arisen at Smith but when D is doing her internship, we are probably using a bank that has branches both here and there so that funds can be deposited here for use there if need be. Given the internship, she won't be able to work and monthly deposits beats having to give her a lump sum up front. </p>
<p>There are indeed many financial conditions that may apply and one should be cautious about reaching conclusions upon insufficient data.</p>
<p>My apologies, SaP!! I did not mean to offend nor seem judgemental. You wrote that you "also have an account with a bank in my hometown that my parents can access for expedited deposits. I reccommend an arrangement like that, or else you're going to spend a lot of time waiting for your folks to mail you checks" and it seems to me that anyone who would be spending a lot of time waiting for their parents to mail checks must be leaning on their parents financially. I know now that you did not mean it that way. Consider it a prejudice on my part. Coming from a somewhat low-income family, it was hard to get used to all of my friends this year having daddy make deposits into their bank accounts whenever they wanted to go shopping. Even if my mom had access to my bank account, she wouldn't have extra money to put in it.</p>
<p>TheDad, I started laughing when I read about your prejudice against Bank of America. I plan to use BankNorth next semester because there is one near where I live and one near campus...and also because I have a huge bias against Bank of America. Long story.</p>
<p>Why do you all hate Bank of America? I'm just wondering because, if I were going to Smith, I'd open up a BofA account locally and it would be one less thing to do when arriving.</p>
<p>It's okay MLB, not a big deal, just a misunderstanding. :-)</p>
<p>B of A is the most anti-consumer financial institution with which I've ever dealt. This goes back at least 30 years for me. It goes from everything to their account services practices for checking & savings to how they've handled my clients real estate loan applications. There is never any question as to which way the penny drops. And they do everything they can to extract fees from their customers, from running debits as quickly as possible to running deposits as late as possible.</p>
<p>Yup, it's all about float and maximizing profits -- Wells Fargo is much the same although not quite as bad as BoA in my opinion -- the lesser of two evils. :-)</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me more about Bank North? Also, is it exclusively within Northampton/MA, or do they have branches elsewhere? (I'm from NJ, by the way). </p>
<p>I've been trying to find a website (if they have any) on Bank North, but so far- no luck.</p>
<p>D says Bank North is a regional bank.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tdbanknorth.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.tdbanknorth.com</a></p>
<p>Don't know what the "TD" stands for but there it is. 600 branches or so they say.</p>
<p>===</p>
<p>Laurel, ayup regarding Wells Fargo being the lesser of two weevils.</p>
<p>For years and years, we had our accounts with a local 7-branch bank. They were bought out by U.S. Bank. Feh. Stick with them out of inertia and the alternatives seeming worse. Not A Happy Camper.</p>
<p>I love local and regional banks, tend to hate the national ones. Besides B of A being so cold and impersonal everytime I've been there, I just feel that they do not put the customer first. A couple other reasons I dislike them:
1) They were really rude to my mom a couple years ago. They refused to let her open a bank account because of her credit history, despite the fact that she had $40,000 to deposit from the sale of our house.
2) They took over a local bank and fired my good friend's mom, who was head of the bank.
3) All of my friends who banked there this year complained about the overdraft fees. My bank in the town I was going to school in, Benjamin Franklin Savings Bank, gives you 3 chances before they charge you an overdraft fee, and the fee is only $25.</p>
<p>B of A also epitomizes the institution that will give loans only to people who don't need them. To add insult to injury, their loan processing sucks dead fish with a straw. They're one of two institutions that I try to actively steer my clients away from.</p>
<p>Their ads are always purty, though.</p>