Image via Wikipedia
I received a comment from Batman over the weekend about why I pay bank fees. It’s a valid question, in the day of online banking it’s not necessary to pay bank fees anymore. I know a lot of brick and mortar banks down in the states have only just started charging monthly fees for checking accounts, but Canadian banks have been charging them for years. If anyone knows about a brick and mortar bank in western Canada that doesn’t charge them, by all means let me know.
I do currently do a lot of my banking online. I transfer money around, pay my bills and buy my mutual funds and stocks online. I do like the convenience of online banking. I’m just not 100% ready to make the jump to full online just yet. I do plan to do it later this year, but not yet.
The first thing I’d like to do is finish paying off my line of credit with my current bank. I don’t want to be closing accounts while I’ve still got liabilities on the table. I’m only a few months away from doing this as it is.
The second thing I want to do is build a one paycheque reserve in the online account before I switch everything over. Given that my mortgage comes out of my account the same day that my paycheque goes in, I want to make sure there isn’t any delay in the online system. I think it was Red earlier this year that got stuck without her paycheque for a couple days, because the pay day landed on a holiday so her online bank didn’t process it right away. I do NOT want to be missing mortgage payments. That’s why I want to have a paycheque worth of reserve in there before I get things switched over. I also want to have the reserve in there in case my work isn’t as quick to move my pay over as my mortgage is at moving my payments.
Batman said that they hate paying fees, and I do too. I’m just not personally and fiscally ready to make the jump yet. I do plan to do it, and kudos to you for pointing out that I’m paying not only stupid, but stupidly high fees. Comments like those keep us bloggers on our toes 
Have you made the jump to online banking yet? How did you find the transition? If you’re in a brick and mortar bank or credit union, do you pay fees? Why or why not?
Recommended Reading: Developing Discipline.
