Bank of America: Wire transfers online only?

I logged into online banking at BofA and got this message:

Now you can send money to just about anyone's account through Online Banking. Just use the
Transfers tab to send money to family or friends inside or outside the U.S. You can get immediate
confirmation of your transaction on screen or via optional email alert.

With this new feature, you can also:

* Set up recurring transfers
* View Transfers status and history
* Wire money same day or transfer money next day or 3rd business day1

Transferring money online, is only one of several ways Online Banking can help you save time: you can also
reorder checks, stop payments and view or print statement or check copies.

Beginning this summer, wire transfers will no longer be available in your local Banking Center, so we
encourage you to start enjoying the ease and convenience of online transfers today.

It sounds like good news, except they don't mention what the fees and transfer limits will be.

But the last part blows me away. Is a major commercial bank really going to eliminate wire transfer service from its bank branches? That just sounds too unbelievable.

I just tried it. They basically combined ACH and wire transfers between accounts of the same person with person to person transfers into single service. Transfers cost $3 (3-day ACH), $10 (next day ACH), variable (same day wires). This is the first time I see a major US bank offering affordable person to person transfers that can be setup online.

Serpentor said: Beginning this summer, wire transfers will no longer be available in your local Banking Center, so we encourage you to start enjoying the ease and convenience of online transfers today.
I thought the whole purpose of banks not allowing online wires was security. Online wires is music to my ears, but doesn't this pose a security risk? If someone access your account, they can now send a wire?

I'm not sure with BofA, but most banks use a 3rd party external transfers entity (a big one is CashEdge), who make the risk decisions based on various inputs (and also take the risk in case of fraud or loss).

Multi-factor authentication is also an additional security step, were someone to gain access to your login ID and password they would also be required to answer a challenge question, which would assumably mitigate a good amount of fraudulent online account access.

Serpentor said: Beginning this summer, wire transfers will no longer be available in your local Banking Center, so we encourage you to start enjoying the ease and convenience of online transfers today.
I thought the whole purpose of banks not allowing online wires was security. Online wires is music to my ears, but doesn't this pose a security risk? If someone access your account, they can now send a wire?Online wire access is nothing new. Citi, HSBC, and others have had this functionality for years (I have used it! Online wire prices are typically cheaper than in-branch wire prices). The news is not that online wires are being offered, but that in-branch wires are being eliminated.