Originally posted by: edro
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: LS8
So your bank should eat the cost of the transaction?
The bank is providing a service for you and services cost money.
Exactly. You are asking a person at a bank to write a check for you and to mail it to another entity for you. These two tasks cost money in supplies and in labor. Why should Chase do it for free?
Either (A) do it for yourself, (B) sign up for one of their packages where your fees are waived, or (C) go to the bank RECEIVING the money to do it. The bank that receives the money does it for free since they want your money.
Same goes for all bills. Banks charge to pay your bills for you unless you sign up for one of their packages. But if you go to the recipient of your money, they will virtually always do it for free. For example, go to your electric company (or gas, or cable, or whatever) and have them do a withdrawl.
You both fail.
Bill Pay is FREE.
A transfer to another bank account is the exact same thing as Bill Pay (transfer to another "account").
They have this fee to force you to have your savings account under the Chase umbrella.
It's fine... I will delete my newly added accounts (from the Chase site, so I don't make the same mistake again) and pull the money from Chase via the ING website from now on.
You two are both arguing correctly, but from different angles. Online bill payment consist of two things:
1. They print a check and mail it for you. It costs them the stamp (42c?--bulk discount?) plus the printing fee. However, the bank prefers it over you writing a check (which now they charge low level accounts for) and paying for the stamp yourself for three reasons.
a. It is safer (they scramble routing number and account number), so no worry about fraud that way
b. They take the money immediately out of your account, and only return it 90 days later if the check is not cashed (they are still earning interest on it, but you aren't)
c. It costs them less to process this computer-generated check than a handwritten check (no human has to verify it, they know what amount it is for, after all they wrote it).
2. You are doing business with a major bank (paying CC at another one, etc). Here they can provide one day transfers, via ACH. Even cheaper than printing a check/mailing it for you.
As for the $3 push fee to an external account, this is probably so that you will be more inclined to leave the money in an internal account. However, ING Direct accepts mailed deposits. I would imagine that you could online billpay (which would be "mailed"--but probably ACH) for free to that address. I will try that myself now.
Edit: Appears good only for linking, not regular deposits. No matter, just get a Premier Platinum account, or use ING's website.