I called yet again and confirmed a visit was unnecessary, and saw the same thing on Bank Deals, so the account is for sure nationally available, at least for now!

Hamton said:I gave charter a call to ask few questions. Here is what I got out of her:

* Soft pull. She said they use transunion to do a check system.
* Any kind of automatic bill pay (utilities, mortgage, CC) will satisfy the one auto ACH debit
The CSR this morning told me they use ChexSystems and they don't do a hard credit inquiry. This is sort of what you're saying ("check system" = ChexSystems).

umafuaba said:Has anyone actually signed up for this account? This one seems pretty good (soft pull), and considering SBoT is lowering its rates I'm considering this. Is it easy to link up other banks for ACH transfers with this bank?
Charter Bank (as well some other possibilities) looks nice, but it's highly unlikely that I'll do anything until the first of the year. By that time, I hope we'll see the aftermath of the FOMC 12/11 meeting and its possible further rate decrease. And I hope we'll know the details of the seemingly certain SBoT rate drop. Sorry, I haven't had any actual experience with Charter Bank.

Folks,

I know this might be a sideline, but I feel it is on-topic.

For your Notories and Deposits for these sort of out-of-state checking accounts...open a free Washington Mutual account in your state( if available).

You will get free Notories and outgoing wires there....after they get to know you they will remove their extremely long and strict hold times on your deposits, enabling you to make a deposit and immediatley wire it to your interest earning account (make sure your incoming wires do not have a fee at the interest-earning bank!).

ES

I haven't seen an update here regarding whether it is open to those outside the local area since Nov, so I tried signing up online. That part went fine, so I'm waiting for the snail mail package. I'll keep everyone posted. So far I've noticed a credit check in TransUnion only (not Equifax and not Experian).

Is it ok to trust this bank? They only have locations in NM? Has anyone had experience with them?

Not sure about the soft pull, since they offer an overdraft account, and this means credit.
I haven't gone through the application process, can you opt out of the overdraft account?

Is their bill pay interface CheckFree? If not, I'll stick with SBoT.

I took the plunge and opened an account yesterday (subject to approval, additional paperwork yadda yadda yadda). Primarily, I did not wish to pay a $50.00 membership fee to join the credit union because I am not all that confident the higher cap on that account would stay in place long enough for me to recoup my investment (that, and I am content with having $25,000 of my own money in a checking account now that my 0% offers seem to have dried up and gone away). Heck, I don't recall ever having 25k in cash of my own money that did not get dumped right into the stock market!

Buckmann said:From Charter's Funds Availability Disclosure statement:

In addition, funds you deposit by check may be delayed for a longer period under the
following circumstances:
....
- You deposit checks totaling more than $5,000.00 on any one day.
....

We will notify you if we delay your ability to withdraw funds for any of these reasons,
and we will tell you when the funds will be available. They will generally be available no
later than the 11 business day after the day of your deposit.

Doesn't that limit/delay seem excessive?
Unfortunately, it's not excessive per existing regulations. Of course, interest will start accruing even while the funds are on hold, usually upon collection of the funds from the issuing bank. See the Wikipedia Article - Expedited Funds Availability Act for information about hold times.