I have an account with Penfed and realized today they do not have Shared Branches. I found out today that one can still open a CD over the phone by giving them your bank's account and routing number and they would withdraw needed funds and open CD same day. Has anyone done this with them and had any problems? Thanks!
Answers
Still, you have to take into account time differences across the country and any cutoffs for posting wires at the receiving institution. For example, I recently closed a CD at a bank on the West Coast. Their 8am PST start time was already 10am CST at the receiving bank, which had a cutoff of 2pm for posting wire transfers. So, there was only a 4-hour window for the sending bank to initiate the transfer, for the transfer to pass all verification processes in transit, and for the receiving bank to receive and post the funds. Any delay would have put the funds at risk of not being posted until the next business day. Fortunately, everything worked correctly.
When I open a CD at an institution, I now make a point of opening a savings or checking account at the same time. In the case of a credit union, the share (savings) account is of course a requirement. I arrange to have the matured CD funds moved to that account at maturity, and then move the money out via a transfer initiated at my hub account and from there to its final destination. It generally takes 2 business days to complete (depending on cutoff times) but it avoids the fee issue, and given today's low rates, the dollar amount of interest lost may be much less than the total cost of a wire transfer.
Good luck~
