16 replies to this topic

[BrianT]

This might seem like a rather elementary question but I'm going to ask anyway.

We signed the papers on a contract for our Mississippi land this morning. And I feel fairly confident that these people will be able to come up with the funds. We also have a local bank that we set up knowing we'd have some routine expenses here and have some savings here.

When the property closes, we will have no need to maintain the bank accounts in MS and will want to move all of the funds here back to our home bank in Sioux Falls. No real hurry, just want to wrap up a "loose end".

It's not quite six figures but a big chunk of six. So we're not talking about just a few hundred bucks. Were it that small, I'd just walk into the bank and close the accounts and walk out with the cash.

Not having dealt with larger amounts before, I am looking for suggestions as to how might be the best methods to get the funds from Bank A to Bank B.

They are both small "home town" type banks. Neither have locations anywhere near the other. We're not ex-military and have not connection with a credit union.

It's probably a very easy transaction but since I haven't done anything large over any distance, I'm interested in whether any of you have suggestions as to good ways to make it happen smoothly and securely.

Thanks for any input.

Brian

[Barb and Alex]

Do you already have an account with Bank B? If not, open one right away with a small deposit. Then get the wiring instructions for your new account. When you are ready to close the account in Bank A request they wire transfer your funds to Bank B. There will probably be a nominal wire transfer fee.

[BooneDocks]

I just closed my account at one bank by sending them a voided blank check for my new bank (that gives them all the wire transfer info) and telling them to wire transfer all the funds. Done.

[BrianT]

Thanks for the input.

Yes, I do have accounts at both banks all of which I've had for several years.

I'm located close to the bank that has the accounts I want to close so I can do this end of it pretty easily. It's the bank where I'll be depositing the money that I'm 1000+ miles away from.

Sounds like wiring the funds will be easy as I certainly do have a Sioux Falls check I can void with the pertinent info for the bank I'm close to.

Great!! Thanks.

If I can ask another question...

Do I need to let the bank in SD know that the $$ is coming?

Brian

Edited by BrianT, 14 February 2012 - 06:08 PM.

[Jessica]

I agree that probably the easiest and quickest way is doing a wire transfer. There will be a small fee (it's $17 where I work). The other option if you are physically going to be near the two banks is to go into the bank you are leaving, close the account and have a check made out to you. Then deposit it into your other account. There will probably be a hold on the check for a period of days so it's not the fastest way to move the funds. But it won't cost you anything.

[Jessica]

Do I need to let the bank in SD know that the $ is coming?

Brian

You must have been writing your reply when I was writing my post. No, you don't need to let the receiving bank know the wire is coming. It's basically like a direct deposit and goes wherever the sending bank directs it (as long as the account is open etc.) Also I saw your post about being a number of miles from the old bank. It is possible to mail a check for deposit if you ever wanted to do that.

[BrianT]

Thanks, Jessica,

I did kinda wonder about sending a check to deposit. But I did wonder if that was safe to do or could it cause a major headache if something happened to the check in the shipping process.

It does sound like wiring the money, even with the fee (something tells me it's $25 here from wiring funds to a friend one time) might be the best way to make sure it gets to where it's going.

(Yup, I was editing while you were typing.)

Thanks,

Brian

[Dutch_12078]

To be clear, this would be a "wire transfer" directly from one bank to the other, not "wiring the money", as in sending it by Western Union.

[BrianT]

I think I understand, Dutch. I didn't have any intention of involving a third party such as Western Union.

I'm not sure if the bank would be doing an ACH transaction for a wire transfer or how they would do it. I guess I need to ask ahead of time just to be sure.

Thanks,

Brian

[nana25k]

You should expect a fee from the bank that the money will go to as well as the sending bank. Just call them and ask.

The sending bank just needs the routing and account number of the recieving bank. Just walk in the door of the sending bank and they will handle everything for you. We have wired money from one bank to another lots of times...Piece of cake.

[Dutch_12078]

I think I understand, Dutch. I didn't have any intention of involving a third party such as Western Union.

I'm not sure if the bank would be doing an ACH transaction for a wire transfer or how they would do it. I guess I need to ask ahead of time just to be sure.

Thanks,

Brian

I thought it likely you had it right, Brian, but I thought it worth a mention just to make sure everyone was on the same page.

[Ron and Elena]

It's probably a very easy transaction but since I haven't done anything large over any distance, I'm interested in whether any of you have suggestions as to good ways to make it happen smoothly and securely.

Thanks for any input.

Brian

There are two commonly used methods of moving money electronically from one bank account to another: Wire transfer, and ACH (automated clearing house) transfer. ACH is more commonly used when time is not the major concern since it is less expensive or even free. Wire transfers are more commonly used when time is of the essence (e.g., closing an escrow). Here is a good explanation of the two methods:

http://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/difference-between-wire-transfer-and-ach.html

I use ACH transfers frequently with no problem and none of the institutions I use charge for the service. The funds are usually available in the receiving account in two or three days.

---Ron

[Budd]

Since 9/11, amounts over $10,000 are scrutinized differently and it may serve you well to ask your new bank for the best way to move the money from the old one. We ran into this last year when moving about 50K and though it was not a very big deal because we did it the right way from the get-go, it was time sensitive and the delays we would have had trying to do it the "old way" could have had other consequences.

Just saying, find out from the incoming back what works best for them.

[Bob & Mary]

you'll be surprised how easy it is to make the deposit. Not that the withdrawal will be hard, just that deposits are easier ;-)

[BrianT]

Actually, I made an email inquiry with my SD bank and asked them how they think it's best to make it happen. I'll let you all know what they say.



Thanks again for all the thoughts.

Brian

[bryanl]

it may serve you well to ask your new bank for the best way to move the money from the old one.

Even small banks do more than just hold money. They are part of a regulated network involved in getting funds from one place to another with reasonable security. A good banker will be able to advise and assist in helping you do what you need.

There are two commonly used methods of moving money electronically from one bank account to another: Wire transfer, and ACH (automated clearing house) transfer.

Thanks for the link. good stuff.

On the road, a big issue is being able to receive and pay bills using the I'net rather than USPS. The mechanisms for that are very similar.

[BrianT]

I promised I'd update...

Heard from the bank. They don't much care how the money comes in, whether it's wired in or whether they receive a cashiers check. They suggested that the title company could probably wire the money directly to my SD account at closing if I asked them to do so which would take care of the bulk of the funds.

I dunno. I wanna talk to the realtor to see what / who they normally use and what their typical protocol might be and then maybe talk to the local bank here and find out if they have particular ways they like to do things. (I've found the MS bank to be much more difficult to work with so they'll likely be the biggest pain-in-the-posterior.)

Anyway, that's the word for now. Thanks for all of the thoughts and comments. Much appreciated.



Brian