Conference 7.286::digital

	Every week my pay gets put into three different accounts at the
	DCU. Is that a special case?

			Alfred

    	re .1

    	I think that .0 is asking for the ability to direct-deposit
    	into, say, a Baybanks SAVINGS account as opposed to a checking
    	account.  Not all people have DCU accounts.  Not all people
    	have access to a DCU account.

    	re .0

    	How does DEC or payroll know that the account you list is, in
    	fact, a checking account?  You just give them an account number
    	at a bank and that is it.  Have you tried using a savings account
    	for direct deposit?

    	Perhaps the problem is at the receiving bank where such direct
    	deposits have to go into a checking account.  If that's the case,
    	your beef is with the bank, not DEC.  Who told you that you can't
    	use a savings account?

    	Joe Oppelt

    Currently Digital software for Direct Deposit does limit us to 
    depositing into checking accounts only.  If you provide Payroll 
    with a savings account number, your bank will send Digital a
    error back telling us its not a checking account.  
    
    Future enhancements to the Direct Deposit program will allow deposits
    into savings accounts.
    
    Ken

    re .2: Who told you that you can't use a savings account?
    
    The form you fill out says you MUST use a checking account and you
    must attach a voided check.

    
    Well, it's been years, but I could have sworn that when I started with
    direct deposit at BayBank, they asked how much of it to go to Checking
    and how much to savings.  Maybe it's because you get one account number
    for both.  I don't know if other banks do that or not.  I do have
    everything go into my checking, but I'm pretty sure it was by choice.
    
    Chris D.

    At some banks, having direct deposit is one way of getting a free
    checking account.  Once the clearing house puts the money in your
    checking account, the bank can automatically transfer it however you
    like.
    
    In the case of DCU, I belive that you can arrange for payroll
    deductions to go directly to DCU.  That is different than direct
    deposit of an entire paycheck.
    
    Steve

    Is it really that tough to get a checking account with no fees?
    Here in Canada, most checking accounts are free just as long as you
    keep, say $750 in it at all times.
    
    What's the trend in the U.S.?
    
    Jim

    In the UK (and at least 1 Irish bank) che(qu)ing accounts are free as
    long as they are kept in credit (even by as much as 1p).
    
    Mike

    My credit union, not DCU, has free checking as long as you have
    a savings account with them with at least $25 in it. 
    
    Since most of my banking is done with them, including some nice CD 
    interest, this is not a problem. 
    
    Jim
    

    Banks in the US vary and most banks offer several different types of
    accounts.  Some of the differences are:
    
    - whether they send you your cancelled checks, or just send a listing
      of check numbers and amounts.
    
    - how much interest is paid on the account (it may be none or it may
      vary with the account balance)
    
    - whether your minimum balance effects the monthly account fee
    
    - how many "free" checks you can write each month.  (If there is a
      limit, the processing fee for each check over that limit varies.)
    
    - Just about anything else you can think of.
    
    Most banks offer at least 3 or 4 variants, not counting special deals
    for students and senior citizens. 
    
    Steve

    I have had direct deposit to the NASA Credit Union for several years.
    At the DEC end, I simply gave them the info for the electronic xfer. At
    the NASA CU end, I was given the option of how I wanted the deposit
    spread amongst my accounts. Seems to me that it's the DCU that might
    have the (software?) restrictions.

    Communication back from the direct deposit folks at DEC indicate
    that it will be 18-24 months before they will get around to
    implementing other direct deposit options.

When I came to DEC in 1987 I requested direct deposit to my Baybank (MA, USA)
savings account.  At my previous job I had that arrangement - no fuss, no
bother.  At that time I was told that payroll was testing the system and that
I would be informed *shortly* when it was available.

My account is a statement savings account so there is no passbook to worry
about.  The checking account which goes along with it does not earn interest,
hence my desire to have the money put into the savings account.  Both accounts
have the same account number, but the electronic routing codes (used for direct
deposit and other electronic fund transfers) are different.  There is a charge
for automatic transfers between these accounts.

I have now been waiting 'shortly' for over three years...

If this was a revenue product it would have been (1) cancelled or (2) cause
for firing all of the individuals who failed to deliver.

I find it aggravating to receive a 'live' paycheck each week and have some
clown who designed the stub 'remind' me that "Direct deposit is the Digital
way."

I have to assume that Digital's software has to go out of its way to prevent
direct deposit to a savings account.  The rest of the world seems to have
figured out how to accomplish this *correctly* at least *7* years ago.

How about just purchasing a payroll system from someone who already knows
how to do it?  Or does payroll suffer from NIH too?

We are supposed to be a leading-edge, high-tech company...  Only problem is
we forgot how to accomplish some of life's lower-tech tasks 8~{.

I'm still waiting...

Dave

    I am confused....where are we talking about here?  I've had direct
    deposit for as long as I can remember with money going to three
    accounts.  Possibly it depends on which bank you are direct depositing
    to?
    

I can't agree more with .12 and .13! With all the discussion about
increased productivity and metrics, it boggles my mind that our payroll
IM&T folks can't/won't make what appears to be a minor change to their
programs.

Maybe the correct solution (nowadays) is to get rid of those non-performing
jobs (and the manager) and just purchase a package (as was suggested in .13).

    re: 14.  It sounds like Digital payroll only does a Direct deposit to
    a banks checking accounts.  Some of these banks, however, will split
    the money up however you want it.  So, I guess for now, it's what bank
    you belong to that determines how you're money gets split up.
         Now, why I can have money direct deposit to my DCU savings when I
    don't even have a chacking account with them is another story.
    
    Chris D.

    
    DCU savings deposits are DEDUCTIONS. Not DIRECT DEPOSIT
    .

    Re:  1364.10
    
    Sounds kindof like the options we have on our chequing accounts up
    here...but is it a trend that U.S banks always ding you, or becoming
    that way.
    
    My Bank of Montreal chequing account is attractive for having no fees,
    this is one of their major selling features.  If they didn't have it,
    everyone would go somewhere else.  My account offers:  interest just
    a tad below the savings account (like 1/8% below, rings in at around
    8%), no fees for cheques, withdrawals, deposits, or transfers as long
    as you keep a monthly minimum balance of $750; and a passbook type
    affair.  The only thing you pay for is to have your cheques printed or
    the other bank value-added type things, such as certified cheques,
    money orders, etc.
    
    I would hope that the universality of no-fee chequing accounts in
    Canada is not as common as the universality of NO no-fee chequing
    accounts in the U.S....
    
    Jim

    BTW - here in Canada we have been notified tin the  past week that direct 
    deposit of Expense voucher payments, etc will be instituted in a week or 
    so, as well as paycheques. Also in the communication was the information 
    that the money could be directly deposited into savings accounts.
    
    Scooter

    Re: .18
    
    There are two subjects intertwined in this topic: the limitations of
    Digital's software for flexible handling of Direct Deposits, and the
    fact that some institutions are now no longer considering Direct
    Deposit alone a sufficient criteria for waiving account fees.
    
    The "trend" seems to be, especially in larger U.S. banks, to increase
    the minimum requirements for a no-fee account: BayBank (Mass.), already
    been mentioned here once, recently issued a revised schedule of charges
    that, among other things, doubles minimum balance requirements in order
    to have fees waived (example: $2000 minimum for the basic checking
    account) and, if you don't meet those criteria, will now only partially
    credit the monthly fee if you have Direct Deposit. 

re: 1364.2

The problem is at DEC's end.

I investigated this last Spring.

I don' under stand what so many you DEC emplyees have agains using DCU
Its FREE checking. They pay intrest on the checking account if you carry 
a balance of greater than $1,000.00. I live in Minnesota and have no problem
accepting the with any one accepting the checks., And before living 
in MN I lived in Illinoies and had onproblems with any one accepting
DCU or Schmitt(sp) Bank Checks. 

re: 1364.22

Very simple!

It's my choice what I do with my money.

DCU just doesn't offer what I need, however, I'm not about to debate the 
(de)merits of DCU vis a vis other financial institutions.

I also don't allow DEC to hold my DEC stock, hope that's OK with the rest of 
you.

    I belong to 3 Federal Credit Unions and have found their services vary
    greatly. I opted NASA's FCU for Direct Deposit as it gives me free
    checking, interest on no min. balance, free VISA, and access (at no
    charge per transaction) to any bank's ATM machine on either of 2 ATM
    networks. They also provide (no cost) the telephone gizmo that lets you
    access your account(s) for inquiries or money transfer. Granted,
    nothing is totally free and their rates for savings aren't as
    competitive as other institutions.

DCU is actually one of the worst deals going for "checking" (share draft
or NOW) accounts.  They pay no interest at all on balances under $1000,
and when they do, it's something like 4.9%.  They don't return cancelled
checks and charge 75 cents for ATM transactions (other than at their
own machines).  Commercial banks give 5 or 5.25% interest on $500 minimum
balances, return cancelled checks and many have no fees for ATM usage.

I don't know why anyone would use the DCU share draft account.

				Steve

We've been paying $1.00 for non-DCU atm transactions for quite a
while...

Also, FWIW DCU will overdraft protect your checking up to 3 times
per month from money you have available in a normal savings account.

Wbat really annoyed me at DCU was a few years ago we had a bunch of
cash in RSVP and $5.00 in Savings.  Well we bounced a check
which was short by $10.00.  I asked them why they didn't take the money
out of rsvp and was told they won't do that.  But get this, instead of
getting the $10.00 out of rsvp they bounced the check and then proceeded
to take $15.00 out of rsvp as their fee for bouncing the check!  I couldn't
believe the stupidity of this transaction!

-steve

I opened my DCU Sharedraft account back in '83, when the interest rate
on Sharedraft balances was TWELVE percent, higher than the interest on
regular shares.

It has never been my primary checking account; reserved for quick and
easy access to the funds on deposit.

Inertia has kept me from doing anything about fixing the situation in
light of the changes since then.  Particularly annoying is that the
Easy-Touch system can't be used to move funds out of RSVP and that RSVP
can't be used for overdraft protection.  If either of these were possible,
I would have everything in RSVP waiting to be used for the one or two
checks a quarter I write on the account.

/john

re: .27

I move funds into/out of RSVP over the phone all the time.
Of course you should only take money out 3 times a month
or they hit you for a service charge.

The RSVP savings number is 10.

-steve

Thanks; the last time I asked this was still not possible.

/john

Re:  1364.2

>    	re .1
>
>    	I think that .0 is asking for the ability to direct-deposit
>    	into, say, a Baybanks SAVINGS account as opposed to a checking
>    	account.  Not all people have DCU accounts.  Not all people
>    	have access to a DCU account.
>
>    	re .0
>
>    	How does DEC or payroll know that the account you list is, in
>    	fact, a checking account?  You just give them an account number
>    	at a bank and that is it.  Have you tried using a savings account
>    	for direct deposit?
>


Re:  1364.21
>
>The problem is at DEC's end.
>
>I investigated this last Spring.
>


    This past fall (1990) I closed a mortgage at a local bank. The note is
paid automaticlly - once every two weeks - from a SAVINGS account at said
bank. Initially Corp. Payroll insisted that they could only auto-deposit to
a CHECKING account. After several phone calls between the target bank and
Corp. Payroll I submitted the required direct-deposit authorization form
to Payroll - the electro-deposit code information reflected my SAVINGS
account at the bank holding the mortgage. Although Corp. Payroll stated
'we don't know if "it" will work - we've NEVER TRIED THIS ...' I have had
NO PROBLEMS.

    Don't accept Payrolls dogma at face value. I had a very pro-active
account manager at the bank in question. She more or less 'insulted' Corp.
Payroll into 'giving it a try' --- "What do you mean YOU can't deposit
into a SAVINGS account? We have OTHER COMPANIES doing it ALL THE TIME."

Joe Whittemore
WFO IS
242-2514
WFOOFF::Whittemore_J