Why did Banks ....

[lowell holmes]

quit sending monthly statements. It sure helped keeping the check book balanced and you always knew how
much money you had. Some times I have to go to the bank just to check my balance.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Our bank sends a monthly statement. They have encouraged us to paper-free but not made it mandatory. That being said, I check our accounts online at the 3 banks with whom we deal.

[Zachary Hoyt]

My bank started charging $2 a month for mailed statements a couple of years ago, but they issue a free e-statement that I can view and print from their website. I can print it in a way that saves a bit of paper, and since the sheets haven't been folded into an envelope they're easier to file neatly, so I guess it's not all bad.

[Nathan Johnson]

Most people use online banking now and dont want paper. Saves the bank money not printing all that.
If you also use online banking, you can probably opt back in to paper statements. And check your balance.
Otherwise, your banker may be able to update your preferences next time you're in the bank.

Assuming they still offer the choice of paper statements. I suppose every bank is different.

[Frank Pratt]

Banking is so much easier & better than it was back in the day. Paper statements are just more paper to clutter up my desk or for me to loose. And no need to go to the bank, just check your account online. I haven't seen the inside of a bank for months (maybe a year?), either for personal or my business.

[Matt Day]

Just create an online account with your bank via their website or an app to view your statements.

Sometimes they’ll send an email or letter stating that you’ll be switched to electronic statements only unless you respond saying you want hard copies.

[Bruce Page]

Online banking is so much easier. Being able to look at the different accounts with a simple click of the mouse, not having to rifle through a stack of printouts is great. I don’t miss the paper statements at all.

[Darcy Warner]

I am at my bank a couple times a week, I prefer paper statements

[John K Jordan]

quit sending monthly statements. It sure helped keeping the check book balanced and you always knew how
much money you had. Some times I have to go to the bank just to check my balance.

They, like internet, cell phone companies and others, eliminate printing and mailing paper to reduce costs. The bank we use (credit union) still sends out paper statements. I mostly use the on-line banking - it provides instant monitoring of all accounts, transfers, etc. They offer online check deposits so the reasons to go to the bank are decreasing. But I do like going to the branch office, talking to the people, depositing or getting cash. In "normal" times, that is.

JKJ

[Bill Dufour]

Sending anything in the mail probably costs at least one dollar. This is just the postage, the envelope, the sheet of paper, printing a generic thing on the paper, inserting and sealing the envelope and addressing the envelope.

It costs more if you want any actual specific information on the paper and if the address has to be related to the paper inside.

Wells Fargo just "improved" their online banking and I can no longer look at statements online beyond the balance and any pending transactions. Now I have to download that information separately for each account. What a pain a much slower. It probably saves some cost in computer storage fees.
Bil lD

[Stan Calow]

My banks will still send paper at your request, but they charge extra for it.

[George Bokros]

Where we have our checking account statements are sent monthly no charge. Where we have savings accounts one of the banks has switched to quarterly and the other one sends an annual statement only unless the account has transactions. My wife prefers paper statements and I insist on paper bills - utilities, cable, cell phone etc. insures that I do not miss a payment. I do not let any company other than two insurance companies make direct withdrawals from my checking account. These two insurance companies basically insisted on direct deduction, I agreed only because the amount is the same every month and they give at least 30 notice via snail mail of a premium increase.

[michael dilday]

Completely paperless here. I actually scanned all my file cabinet documents and shredded the paper. All bills are paid automatically so I only write checks for any one time purchases where I can't use a credit card maybe 6 times a year. Really makes life easier.

[Brian Tymchak]

No paper statements on bank accounts anymore. Just a waste of a couple $ a month. I don't even balance the checkbook anymore. 20 years ago I realized that all discrepancies between my checkbook balance and the account balance were of my own doing so I was just wasting my time. I also run almost all of my monthly bills to my credit card so I only write 2 checks a month now. And I have some alerts set up to track transactions on the accounts.

[Kev Williams]

I use Wells Fargo. I just went online, clicked on 'accounts', clicked on 'statements', and a link to years worth of PDF'd monthly statements shows up. I clicked my March statement. It's NINE pages of account activity for ALL my accounts; biz checking, personal checking, three Visa accounts, one Mastercard account, our mortgage, plus my 'Rewards' account and a couple of pages on how to balance my checkbook, money tips, etc... Every statement page is identical to what they send in the mail, and you can print them yourself. Works for me...

[Walter Plummer]

Still prefer paper and I balance every month. We were in the bank with an account representative and got to talking of this same thing. She told us we would not believe how many people come in throw up their hands and ask "How much money do I have?"

[Brian Elfert]

I know that some banks only offer electronic statements. No paper statements even for a cost.

I don't get paper bill for anything unless it is my only choice. I pull my checking and credit card transactions and balances into Quicken once a week and would notice pretty quick if something is up.

[Bruce Wrenn]

We still do paper statements, write checks, and receive and pay bills by mail. Anytime before writing checks for the month, call on customer service line and balance books. Once after calling, wife asked "What's wrong?" I replied "Why do you ask?" She said "You as white as a sheet," to which I replied that bank shows me to be about $5200 overdrawn, with no withdrawals or checks having been written yet. Took a couple phone calls, and about two hours to find out what had happened. I had made two deposits, at different branches on different days, that got recorded to my account as withdrawals. Thankfully no checks were outstanding. To this day, bank hasn't been able to explain how this happened, not once, but twice. Been with this bank since 1968.

[Jim Becker]

The only checks I hand write these days are from my mother's account for medical co-pays. All my bills are paid automagically, electronically or go to my AMEX for consolidation. I stopped getting paper statements years ago. Oh, I occasionally write a check for my business when buying materials from suppliers who have a surcharge for using a credit card, but that's maybe one every two months or so. Balancing accounts is fast and simple online.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Balancing accounts is fast and simple online.Not with an internet speed of 0.69 MB, and that's on the good days.

[Jim Becker]

Not with an internet speed of 0.69 MB, and that's on the good days.

Yes...something we've been discussing in the "what comes next" thread here in OT.

[Thomas McCurnin]

As member of the banking industry most of my working life, banks did it to save their money and make more profit

They will tell you that they did it for ecological reasons, but that is bull, and it’s all about their profit and squeezing every last penny.

Now that said, there are advantages to the customer. Less paper means less to destroy after “x” number of months (shredding or burning is a PITA) and on line banking has a big advantage of seeing an exact balance on all your accounts including credit cards. I can see what checks have cleared in a few seconds. I do opt in for paper statements and do on line banking. So I have the best of both worlds. I single source all my credit cards to the same bank so I am a few clicks away from seeing credit card stuff.

[Lee DeRaud]

Completely paperless here. I actually scanned all my file cabinet documents and shredded the paper. All bills are paid automatically so I only write checks for any one time purchases where I can't use a credit card maybe 6 times a year. Really makes life easier.Yup. I wrote a total of two paper checks last year.

The transition to paperless was a bit tedious: turns out a consumer-grade shredder really isn't up to churning through that kind of volume in a couple of hours. :)

[Frank Pratt]

I don't think I've written 2 personal cheques in the last 10 or 15 years. Business, yes we still write a few cheques a month, like maybe 3 or 4.

[Jon Nuckles]

As member of the banking industry most of my working life, banks did it to save their money and make more profit

They will tell you that they did it for ecological reasons, but that is bull, and it’s all about their profit and squeezing every last penny.


You are so right, Thomas! I prefer everything be online and don't miss paper at all, but my bank and utilities talk of their eco-credentials, yet send me targeted offers and other junk mail in paper form. In a similar vein, Whole Foods (until recently, for obvious reasons) encourages reusing grocery bags to save paper but sends out a paper flyer with their current specials. It took a fairly long phone call to get them to stop sending them to me.

[julian abram]

Some of us old fellows resist all the this fancy electronic technology. But when it comes to banking and paying the bills, I find electronic transactions are the cats meow. I like Fidelity Investments deposit program. Send a photo front and back of a check and bam it's deposited in your account.;)