craig10x said:I just opened up these accounts (Wamu free checking and the online 5% savings account)...seems like a great deal, and although i've been using Amboy for 5% interest, i did need a small checking account for local deposits, so i figured this would be ideal...get a 5% savings and local deposit and banking access (I also use TD Banknorth for the unlimited atm rebates benefit, but their branches aren't so close to me)...So this should all make a nice package!

It was very quick to set-up, and i will be funding the accounts with my TD Checking....but i had a few questions:

1) using WAMU's bill pay....how long does it take for electronic payees to go through....let's say i pay a bill on Monday, for example...what day should it arrive at the payee?

2) With this new WAMU online savings, can you originate an ach transfer, at WAMU's website, from WAMU to an external bank? from an external bank to WAMU?

3) With WAMU Free Checking...i know they don't rebate the other bank's fees, but from what i understand, they no longer charge a fee on their side for a non-WAMU withdrawal? How about if you do a Balance Inquiry or transfer funds to your linked account at a non-WAMU atm...does WAMU charge a fee? Also, with the Online Savings Account....any fees from WAMU when using non-WAMU atms? (for withdrawal...transfer....balance inquiry)...? Thanks...



1) I have yet to be able to get a payee setup to receive electronic payments. I know it now states they send them on the page, but every major payee I setup still shows a five-day period. Bill pay is the one major area WaMu needs to improve. They don't even have a database of major billers.

2) You can now originate ingoing and outgoing ACH transfers for no-charge by setting up "External Accounts" on the Account Services page (and doing the transfers throught the normal Transfer page).

3) WaMu does not charge for any foreign ATM activity with the checking account, but I am not sure about the savings account. You should call and ask a CSR.


On another topic, I've read complaints about WaMu's customer service. However, from my recent experiences, their e-mail and phone support is at least on-par with B of A's, as I've never had a bank misunderstand e-mails more than B of A. WaMu's phone support was also helpful for me (and available 24/7, unlike B of A). As for outsourcing to India, I believe the only India-based call center is for "after-hours" mortgage support.

Also, does anyone know if B of A outsources any call centers? It doesn't seem they do from my experiences, and even with their so-so service, I really admire that for a huge bank (Citibank is all in India).

you get your statement and your interest on the 27th each month


moogoo541 said:do we get the monthly interest at the end of the month or based on when the account was opened? i opened on 27th and after 9/1 nothing still same amount, anyone know?

craig10x said:Thank you DJ Schachner....your reply was very helpful....That's great that you can set up external ACH transfers in and out with other banks at their website...will make the account as useful as my AmboyDirect account (actually, even more so, because Amboy only allows one ach linkage, and i assume on WAMU you can set up more then one)....

As far as the fees for non-Wamu atms....good to know no fees at all from them in the checking account...i will call customer service and ask about whether that applies to the online saving account also......mostly i will use my TD card for free withdrawals at non-wamu atms, but i guess mostly i was wondering if i could use Wamu's card for balance checks and maybe occassional transfers, at a non-wamu machine without getting "hit" by them....

As far as the Bill Pay, it would seem to me that major payees like Chase, Citi, TimeWarner, whatever, who accept electronic, would go electronic by WAMU.....I guess i will just have to try it and seek how fast the payee actually gets paid...I was trying to determine if WAMU's bill pay would work fast and efficient enough to use...if not, i will stick with using my TD Banknorth bill pay (which is fast, especially on electronic payments...if i do it on a Monday, it's in the payee's account by tuesday or wednesday at the latest)....thanks again! and if anyone else has any input on my questions...feel free to post!




You're very welcome. Regarding the bill pay, each payee must be setup manually (enter address, phone number, name, etc.), as they have no database. As is, I do not know how they would be able to process electronic payments, as they don't even know who the payees are. I still use B of A as my primary checking account (their bill pay is fantastic), and I use WaMu for savings (I have $0.01 in the checking account, as that's what they require to keep it open).

"I have yet to be able to get a payee setup to receive electronic payments. I know it now states they send them on the page, but every major payee I setup still shows a five-day period. Bill pay is the one major area WaMu needs to improve. They don't even have a database of major billers"

Note to DJ Schachner: above was your quote to me about WAMU's bill pay....I did my first bill pay...i paid my Chase Credit Card. The initiation date was last Thursday, Sept 7th. Chase received the payment today (Sept 11th)...and it went electronically! So, that means it took 2 business days after the initiation date....which is actually pretty good, and quite acceptable, i think... Apparently, the fact that WAMU doesn't have a data-base of payees has nothing to do with whether the payee goes electronically or not....I suspect that, if the payee accepts electronic, it goes that way....so actually, WAMU's bill pay is not bad at all (they don't offer e-bills, though....but i never use those anyway)....

Apparently, the 5 business day time line they show on the website is just a "comfort margin" for them,(and an over estimate) but in actual fact, payments go much faster then you might think....

So, looks like i will be able to use WAMU for all my primary banking...and enjoy the nice 5% savings rate!

"Ah, that's good to know. Still not quite comparable to B of A's new next-day payments, but oh well. I'm still primarily using B of A (and will be for a while, as I'm a student who needs access everywhere). In fact, I'm almost on my fourth step of being hired as a B of A teller (I hope they don't see the WaMu check card in my wallet"

LOL....well, don't tell them you have accounts with WAMU! By the way, have you heard that Washington Mutual is officially changing it's name to WAMU....yeah it's true! Apparently BOA's Bill Pay (next day now) is like my TD Banknorth bill pay (that worked the same)....but, 1 extra day on an electronic payment is not really bad....I even just paid myself on there, just to test it, and see how long a bill pay by check will take....

But, yeah, i would say that if your payee accepts electronic, then that's the way WAMU sends it to them......They actually mention that on the "payee list" page now.....

And ok about BOA's ATMs...yeah i know they have more then WAMU but WAMU does have pretty good nationwide coverage in major cities now (including here in NYC) and i do have my TD Banknorth card when i want to use other atms for free...so i guess i am pretty set...just hope WAMU keeps their rate competitive! I appreciated your help, so i wanted to let you know the results of my "research" lol good luck on getting the job.....

I just tried applying but after entering all my information, an error said their system was down and to try again later =(

From what I've read, there is no fees for this savings correct? No DD or anything like that as a catch and only a minimum of $1 right? TIA

Small update for DJ....I was curious to know which particular bill pay service is used by WAMU....i looked at the Checkfree website and as it turns out, that's who they use.....Checkfree has always been reliable, and pretty fast in making payments...And they always send by electronic payment if the payee accepts them, only using paper checks when they do not...

fareal said:

Right no fees, minimums, if you do it with the application that signs you for the wamu checking and savings. Becareful with those errors. If I were you I would just wait til tomorrow to try again or you may get locked out. I think if you try it twice and fail even because of their system error you'll get locked out for 7 days. Thats what happened to me. After the 7 days I finally got signed up.

Thanks. Just tried again a few minutes ago and was able to open up both accounts and fund them with no problems.

Whoa, I just validated my external account for the initial deposit. First time I seen a bank take back the trial deposit money.

Paragon said:What kind of credit pulls was this? all soft?

They check ChexSystems and usually don't pull any hard inqs on CRs. The CSR said they might pull a hard if there are too many inqs on your CheXxSystems.