Few things are more important in modern life than access to your money. That's why I would never use an online bank. I use a local credit union but "local" with actual branch offices you can walk into and talk to a human are the important thing.

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balderdash a day ago | parent | next [-]

TD bank has branches but that's not super helpful if you're at the airport. the helpful thing is having a "relationship manager", someone you can call or email directly - you can get that at a big bank or a small one, and you don't need tons of assets, a lot of banks its having your direct deposit with them is enough to qualify for some special relationship.

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preg_match a day ago | parent [-]

Online banks typically offer much more competitive financial products. I have some HYSA accounts at 4% APY, that’s not achievable with a CU or traditional bank.

The solution is the same solution as any financial risk: diversification. I have many accounts at many banks. If any one of them goes down, I’m fine. If multiple go down, I’m still fine in the interim.

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SoftTalker a day ago | parent [-]

My CU has 6-month CDs at over 4% right now.

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preg_match a day ago | parent [-]

CDs are okay but I don’t prefer them due to lack of liquidity. There’s basically no reason to choose a CD over a HYSA at the same rate.

	▲	SoftTalker a day ago \| parent [-]
		The minumum deposits are a lot lower. If you have a HYSA with low balance requirements, sure that's great.

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robgibbons a day ago | parent | prev [-]

I tend to think the same way, but I've personally had far more issues with my local (largest in the region) credit union. Their (human) customer support reps frequently make mistakes processing my share certificates that automation would have otherwise avoided.