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This morning we received a fed ex package with some apparently high end fruits and cheese shipped from Oregon. A card buried under the shipping label thanked us for being Schwab customers for decades. If nothing else the folks at Schwab are always nice.
This may be the key. Following @larryB 's significant attempts to escalate, explain, and get an answer. And posting about the frustrating experience on MFO.
Yeah. Apparently gift baskets from Harry and David are well known. I had no idea. They say their pears are famous but I say they were nothing special. The apples were outstanding.
I've been to Medford, though sadly not to the Shakespeare festival nearby. Really nice store. I'd describe it as a Hickory Farms on steroids but that doesn't do it justice.
Yeah. Apparently gift baskets from Harry and David are well known. I had no idea. They say their pears are famous but I say they were nothing special. The apples were outstanding.
Harry & David’s quality isn’t what it once was - the usual story of corporate buyouts, private equity, and bankruptcy.
@BaluBalu. If you are referring to restoring my relationship with Schwab the fruit basket did no such thing. My one brokerage/banking simplification plan is being revisited. Some ok pears didn’t change a thing.
@BaluBalu. If you are referring to restoring my relationship with Schwab the fruit basket did no such thing. My one brokerage/banking simplification plan is being revisited. Some ok pears didn’t change a thing.
A few of my securities, including XMHQ, are currently lent out by Fidelity under the securities lending program and I get paid interest on the lent out securities. The same securities in my Schwab accounts which are also enrolled for securities lending program are not lent out by Schwab and as such no interest is earned on them.
It is a fascinating market that XMHQ did not have as much short interest when the price was 10% higher and my shares were not lent out at that time but now they are.
If I want to send someone money monthly, but do not want to write checks, is it possible set up a recurring debit from my Fidelity brokerage account to send the money? I do not have the cash management account some of you have and I do not want to particularly open new accounts. I could call Fidelity tomorrow to find out but thought I should check with you guys first.
Linking accounts with different titles requires paperwork guaranteed with Medallion Signatures. I had to do this years ago when I linked my Schwab Brokerage to my daughter's JPM Chase bank a/c. It took about 2 weeks after I mailed the paperwork. Once linked, I can set up onetime or recurring payments.
On the other hand, it's easy to set up such payments online between your own accounts (trick is that one name must be common to both account titles) or via the BillPay.
One trick may be to use auto-pay for a person. But BillPay will cut a check and mail it - it won't be online transfer. Some refuse BillPay checks - insurance companies (either outright refusal or incorrect crediting), banks themselves (one time I tried to use BillPay for bank locker payment - refused).
BTW, we have a bank account in India and rules there are totally different (to begin with, we can write checks from savings account & many other differences). We can setup onetime or auto-payments online to anyone so long as we have the complete bank and personal account information. And of course, instant transfers have been possible for several years - we in the US are just starting on that.
It may also be possible to use a payment app with Fidelity accounts. Whether that app in turn lets you schedule transfers to a third party depends on the app. For example, according to this old (2018) moderator post, Paypal wants you to limit transfers to only Paypal customers.
For the most part, anything you can do with a Fidelity CMA account you can do with a "regular" account. When Fidelity first introduced CMA accounts, they struck me as a marketing gimmick. They still do.
There are only three differences I'm aware of (or at least that I care about):
The CMA account offers the option (it used to be mandatory) of sweeping cash into FDIC-insured banks instead of higher yielding MMFs.
The CMA account provides free ATM rebates for all customers; Fidelity doesn't rebate fees for customers of "regular" accounts unless they are at the Premium ($500K) or above level or are paying for "wealth management".
The CMA accounts can't be used for IRA accounts.
it's easy to set up such payments online between your own accounts (trick is that one name must be common to both account titles)
Unless you're setting up payments from a joint account. Several years ago when I set up transfers from a joint account to my individual taxable account Fidelity required a guarantee (or maybe just consent?) from the joint owner. I don't recall whether I also had to sign.
I asked Fidelity why they required it, especially since they were allowing me to make IRA contributions from that joint account without any fuss. Fidelity said that it was getting too many complaints from joint owners when money was transferred, even though "joint" means either owner has access to the full account. So it wanted the redundant, explicit approval from the joint owner. Except for IRA contributions because "everybody does that" or words to that effect.
bank account in India and rules there are totally different (to begin with, we can write checks from savings account ...)
In the US there are multiple types of savings accounts - passbook (do they still exist?), statement savings, and statement savings with checking. The latter are MMDAs, commonly called money market accounts. What they all have in common, and what distinguishes them from demand deposit ("checking") accounts is that they have the right (rarely exercised) to require seven days notice on withdrawals.
Since 2020 banks have been allowed to offer unlimited "third party" withdrawals (such as checks). Some banks have taken advantage of this, others have preserved the six withdrawal per month limit, as they are allowed to do.
It seems Fido has Venmo but not Zelle yet. Schwab has Zelle. My bank & credit union have Zelle. I have it active only at 1 place as a unique phone# is required. If I want to activate another Zelle, I would have to use email. There are daily/monthly limits for Zelle (mine $1K/$4K) that vary by banks & payments cannot be reversed for any reason. https://www.fidelity.com/spend-save/mobile-payments
WE have sent money and stocks to our kids and daughter-in-law at Schwab from our Schwab account without an issue once we set it up with a form. No Medallion required but I think it had to be notarized
Presumably you can do that with your Fidelity account. Fidelity doesn't charge for debit card withdrawals, even on "regular" brokerage accounts. It just doesn't reimburse surcharges if you're not a Premium or better customer.
I'm confused about the "non-interest bearing account" comment. At Schwab, Zelle works with the Schwab Bank Investor Checking account. That account pays 0.45%. It ain't much, but it ain't nuttin' either.
I'm guessing that you've got a BofA checking account, because you've posted about owning a BofA CC paying 5.25%. That requires Premium Rewards which in turn requires having a BofA checking account. Even BofA has free (for Premium Rewards customers) checking accounts that pay interest. Sure, it's just 0.01%, but that counts as interest-bearing
New Schwab 'feature' --- over the past 2 weeks nearly every time I login I'm forced to verify my computer to them, sometimes multiple times a day. I have no idea why this is happening all of a sudden, but it is getting rather annoying.
Only happens on the website. ToS and mobile app seem to be just fine.
Multiple prompts for computer verification would be rather annoying! I wonder what has changed? I've only been a Schwab customer for ~50 days but found their reps to be helpful in resolving issues and answering questions (via phone and email).
I've setup MFA via the VIP app for the Schwab website and don't use mobile or ToS. I'm prompted to input the VIP code upon every login since I've set my computer to be not remembered. After entering the VIP code once, I'm not prompted for additional verification during the current session.
New Schwab 'feature' --- over the past 2 weeks nearly every time I login I'm forced to verify my computer to them, sometimes multiple times a day. I have no idea why this is happening all of a sudden, but it is getting rather annoying.
Only happens on the website. ToS and mobile app seem to be just fine.
Yes, I've been a Schwab customer for only a matter of months. At the start, I was still using an "app" or some kind of tool to stop trackers and targeted ads. The way it worked was to spoof my own IP address and OS.
Therefore, Schwab wanted to use double-authentication EVERY TIME I wanted to log-in. I got rid of that "app."
But very recently, it's happening again, and I share your frustration. Stinky poopy.
Schwab does not have account lock down feature like Fidelity does. (So, upon transfer from TD a couple of months ago, I moved to 2 factor authentication at Schwab.) I would go to your Profile, Security Settings to see if your 2 factor is turned on. Use of VPN also could trigger verification. Good luck.
Comments
Following @larryB 's significant attempts to escalate, explain, and get an answer. And posting about the frustrating experience on MFO.
It is a fascinating market that XMHQ did not have as much short interest when the price was 10% higher and my shares were not lent out at that time but now they are.
On the other hand, it's easy to set up such payments online between your own accounts (trick is that one name must be common to both account titles) or via the BillPay.
One trick may be to use auto-pay for a person. But BillPay will cut a check and mail it - it won't be online transfer. Some refuse BillPay checks - insurance companies (either outright refusal or incorrect crediting), banks themselves (one time I tried to use BillPay for bank locker payment - refused).
BTW, we have a bank account in India and rules there are totally different (to begin with, we can write checks from savings account & many other differences). We can setup onetime or auto-payments online to anyone so long as we have the complete bank and personal account information. And of course, instant transfers have been possible for several years - we in the US are just starting on that.
For the most part, anything you can do with a Fidelity CMA account you can do with a "regular" account. When Fidelity first introduced CMA accounts, they struck me as a marketing gimmick. They still do.
There are only three differences I'm aware of (or at least that I care about):
- The CMA account offers the option (it used to be mandatory) of sweeping cash into FDIC-insured banks instead of higher yielding MMFs.
- The CMA account provides free ATM rebates for all customers; Fidelity doesn't rebate fees for customers of "regular" accounts unless they are at the Premium ($500K) or above level or are paying for "wealth management".
- The CMA accounts can't be used for IRA accounts.
it's easy to set up such payments online between your own accounts (trick is that one name must be common to both account titles)Unless you're setting up payments from a joint account. Several years ago when I set up transfers from a joint account to my individual taxable account Fidelity required a guarantee (or maybe just consent?) from the joint owner. I don't recall whether I also had to sign.
I asked Fidelity why they required it, especially since they were allowing me to make IRA contributions from that joint account without any fuss. Fidelity said that it was getting too many complaints from joint owners when money was transferred, even though "joint" means either owner has access to the full account. So it wanted the redundant, explicit approval from the joint owner. Except for IRA contributions because "everybody does that" or words to that effect.
In the US there are multiple types of savings accounts - passbook (do they still exist?), statement savings, and statement savings with checking. The latter are MMDAs, commonly called money market accounts. What they all have in common, and what distinguishes them from demand deposit ("checking") accounts is that they have the right (rarely exercised) to require seven days notice on withdrawals.
Since 2020 banks have been allowed to offer unlimited "third party" withdrawals (such as checks). Some banks have taken advantage of this, others have preserved the six withdrawal per month limit, as they are allowed to do.
https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2020/04/fed-eliminates-limits-on-withdrawals-from-savings-deposits
If not, I will have to transfer from my Fidelity to my bank to the non-family person. I can set this up to automatically occur every month.
If it works with Fidelity, the benefit of Fidelity (vs Schwab) is I do not have to transfer to a non-interest bearing account first.
Schwab has Zelle.
My bank & credit union have Zelle. I have it active only at 1 place as a unique phone# is required. If I want to activate another Zelle, I would have to use email. There are daily/monthly limits for Zelle (mine $1K/$4K) that vary by banks & payments cannot be reversed for any reason.
https://www.fidelity.com/spend-save/mobile-payments
What if my bank or credit union doesn't offer Zelle®? - use the app.
How can I use Zelle®? - enter "a Visa® or Mastercard® debit card with a U.S. based account."
Presumably you can do that with your Fidelity account. Fidelity doesn't charge for debit card withdrawals, even on "regular" brokerage accounts. It just doesn't reimburse surcharges if you're not a Premium or better customer.
I'm confused about the "non-interest bearing account" comment. At Schwab, Zelle works with the Schwab Bank Investor Checking account. That account pays 0.45%. It ain't much, but it ain't nuttin' either.
I'm guessing that you've got a BofA checking account, because you've posted about owning a BofA CC paying 5.25%. That requires Premium Rewards which in turn requires having a BofA checking account. Even BofA has free (for Premium Rewards customers) checking accounts that pay interest. Sure, it's just 0.01%, but that counts as interest-bearing
New Schwab 'feature' --- over the past 2 weeks nearly every time I login I'm forced to verify my computer to them, sometimes multiple times a day. I have no idea why this is happening all of a sudden, but it is getting rather annoying.
Only happens on the website. ToS and mobile app seem to be just fine.
I wonder what has changed?
I've only been a Schwab customer for ~50 days but found their reps
to be helpful in resolving issues and answering questions (via phone and email).
I've setup MFA via the VIP app for the Schwab website and don't use mobile or ToS.
I'm prompted to input the VIP code upon every login since I've set my computer to be not remembered.
After entering the VIP code once, I'm not prompted for additional verification during the current session.
Therefore, Schwab wanted to use double-authentication EVERY TIME I wanted to log-in. I got rid of that "app."
But very recently, it's happening again, and I share your frustration. Stinky poopy.
Schwab does not have account lock down feature like Fidelity does. (So, upon transfer from TD a couple of months ago, I moved to 2 factor authentication at Schwab.) I would go to your Profile, Security Settings to see if your 2 factor is turned on. Use of VPN also could trigger verification. Good luck.