Before Moving Your Banking Relationship

You have just moved your residential home, and it may be a couple miles from where you lived before or hundreds of miles away. Most movers feel there are a million things you need to do immediately- and there are! From arranging a new home or apartment insurance policy, to hooking up utilities and cable TV, installing a home security system, replacing appliances, changing keys/locks on all doors, buying paint and home improvement products, and many more.

Then there's your financial service or banking needs - do you stay with your current bank or try a new one?

Before making any changes, first and foremost, figure out what you need and want from your existing or potentially new bank.
Do you want to be near a physical bank branch or will an ATM do just fine? How

about banking via the internet or telephone? How important is convenience and service versus range of products or rates? Obviously, everyone has different needs and decision making criteria- but what is best for you? Look at various options - does the bank that may be most convenient offer the services and types of banking accounts that will be most suitable for me and my family?

An example of this is do you need a bank for simply providing checking account services (of course with free ATM transactions!) or should you be looking for a more of an in-depth banking relationship that may include financial or tax advice, retirement planning, stock trading and college education investments?

Are interest rates most important to you? If so, then make sure you account for this is your decision making. However, watch out for 'special offers', especially online, that promote 'high-yield' checking accounts for instance, since many of these accounts have 'strings' attached such as a mandatory direct deposit function, monthly minimum use of a debit card, short term high interest rates that revert back to below market rates that only offer a three to six month 'introductory interest rate period.

If rates are not important, then what is important to you? Is it a must to have the opportunity to talk with a 'live' teller at a branch? Should the branch be accessible by public transportation? There are a host of other considerations when making this kind of decision.

Once you know what you want, you now need to begin evaluating various national, regional or community retail banks or credit unions and their offers.

There is a wealth of knowledge on bank products via the internet that provides information about what individual banks offer. Most banks will provide details of their services and the cost, if any, on their websites.

However, you just moved, is there a particular bank that can help me with that process? Do they offer a range of not only bank products but other discount offers, services, free trial periods on home products and services that meet your immediate need to make your new house or apartment now a 'home'?