Opened a personal checking account at TD Bank

I just opened a new personal checking account at TD Bank here in New York City. Actually, it is a little more complicated than that.

I had an account with CommerceBank the last time I lived in New York City. I stopped using it after I moved to Boulder, CO in 2005.

I tried to re-activate the account when I moved back to New York City in May, but the branch (same branch as in 2005) said I could not and that I would have to open a completely new account. I ended up opening an account at a Capital One Bank branch nearer to my apartment.

Then, in September I stopped by the CommerceBank branch to open a fresh account. They took my information and entered it into their computer, but then said that they would not be able to open the account and would have to send the information somewhere else to resolve the (unknown) issue and then get back to me. I waited a week, even after they said it would only be two days at most, and then I gave up and went and opened an account at Sovereign Bank a couple of blocks up the street.

I never did hear from CommerceBank.

They told me about the transition to TD Banknorth and eventually TD Bank back in September, but whether that caused my unresolved issued is unknown.

Today, I had some spare time and stopped by the same branch, now TD Bank rather than CommerceBank, to try again. They entered my social security number and told me that I had an opened account and it had all the information that I had given them in September. But they had no clue as to why nobody had called me back. I had not received any statements or other mailings either, but maybe that was because there had not been any activity in the account.

Usually, there is at least an initial deposit that counts as activity, but they gave me a special account called a "50 Plus Club" since I am more than 50 years old, and that type of account does not have an initial deposit requirement.

They went ahead and issued my a debit card, which they actually print in the branch, and ordered checks.

Then, I tried to enroll the account online, but got an error message saying that I was already enrolled, which was true with the old deactivated account, and it told me to call a customer service number. I called and they did something to clear the status and reset my password.

I went through the process of creating security questions and now I can access the account online.

The next obvious step was to link the account with Fidelity so that I can transfer funds to and from Fidelity and my new TD Bank account. I went through the process on the Fidelity web site, giving them my routing and account information. Unfortunately, the confirmation screen reminds me of a restriction which I had forgotten from the last time I did this: Fidelity waits 7 to 10 business days before sending the verification deposits and letting you use the linked account. I have not found any justification for such a long delay. There does not appear to be any technical or legal reason. Whatever.

So, now my new TD Bank is ready to go, other than the fact that there is no money in it pending completion of the link from Fidelity that I will use to fund the account.

My goal is to have several distinct accounts so that my life will not be completely disrupted if I should encounter a severe problem with any single account, such as identity theft. Or if I get really annoyed with any particular bank. I will keep a small amount of cash in each so that I have access to cash in an emergency. Also, that will be a modest reserve of cash that I will not count when computing my avalable cash for my regular monthly budget. A little "Out of sight, out of mind" cash never hurt anybody.

This "50 Plus Club" account offers free checking and free checks with no minimum balance and a free safety deposit box for the first year and a 50% discount after that. It is also an interest-bearing checking account, although the 0.10% interest rate is more of an amusement than a big deal. If I keep $125 in the account, it will pay me one penny of interest each month. Still, that is better than knowing that the bank has my money for free. It also offers free cashiers checks, free money orders, and even free notary service. They also have a free, self-service coin-counting service in the branch.

So, now I have three free personal checking accounts: Capital One Bank, Sovereign Bank, and TD Bank.

I am still funneling most of my financial transactions through Fidelity, but sometimes you actually need a true "bank" bank.

Incidentally, the "TD" in TD Bank stands for Toronto-Dominion, which is the parent bank, which is located in Toronto, Canada.

-- Jack Krupansky