Banks

Which Island?

Niether of these banks do business in the VI.

Jim

First Bank, Scotia Bank, Banco Popular.

Dear Lindsey,

Just a quick quip, but if you're asking about "usual" financal institutions, take a very deep breath!

Of course we don't know if you're considering moving here and transferring funds or investing or whatever but you whatever your druthers you should investigate the options most carefully where banking here is concerned...

Being a former banker and having actually worked for both of the institution you listed I regretfully say no we dont have them. As for usual...Wells Fargo does not have a branch east of the Mississipi except Mortgage lending offices so I am not sure why you would expect to find one in the middle of the Caribbean. BofA does have an affiliation with Scotia Bank here on the island so you can use their ATM's at no charge.
I do all my banking with BofA online and have had no need to open a local account but that is just me and I would say 95% of the people that move here open an account with Banco Popular,FirstBank or Scotia Bank.

My quick advice.....keep your accounts at home, use your credit cards and pay online.

We are moving to St Croix in a few months. Do you all have any recmmendations as to which bank to use? We were considering Banco Popular as they have some branches in Chicago where we are now. Do they have on-line banking capabilities? We use Washington Mutual currently and primarily use the on-line service.

Thanks!
Martin and Jen

Try this website and see if you can obtain answers to your questions: http://www.vibank.org/bancopopular.html

Can you please tell me the website for First Bank Fredriksted.Or any of the other primary Banks in Fredriksted???Thank You.LA

Go to www.FirstBankVI.com.

This site provides all FirstBank Virgin Islands info including locations, hours etc for STX.

Note #1: FirstBank is the largest financial institution in the US & British VI. Most locations and most ATM's.
Note #2: I used to work for FirstBank -- have fond memories -- and am possibly biased.

akresch1:
Thank You very much for the info.It is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!LA

Bank of St Croix is excellent. They do not hve ATMS.

Community Bank is terrible. They have ATMs, but the ATM cards I had never worked.

Jim

We use Banco Popular and have been satisfied. We do some banking on-line with no problem.

Thank you for the input! Is direct deposit used much for paychecks from local businesses? I love it because I don't have to worry about getting to a bank on time to deposit a paycheck.

I kept my Bank of America account and credit card open and then also set up an account at FirstBank here on STX. At least they also have online banking and the Sunny Isle branch has extended hours way beyond what other banks on the island offer.

Having a local bank account helps if you work on the island and are paid with a check on payday. It gives you somewhere to deposit/cash that check. If you had to mail your paycheck to someone to deposit in your bank account on the mainland, you could wait quite a while for the check to arrive, get deposited and then clear before you can access your funds.

I don't think direct deposit from employers is used much here. We chose 1st Bank because they have ATM cards (all the banks here don't) and their fees were lower - get ready , all banks here still have fees. We have the cheapest plan but can only use a bank teller (the actual person) 3 times a month or we get charged extra! Isn't that funny??! (but, as always, ...I let it slid because....WE LIVE IN PARADISE 🙂

my FirstBank account doesn't have any fees. It depends on the type of account you set up. They have one called a "power one" account that combines both checking and savings and does not have any fees. I even get interest on both accounts! Plus free ATM use at all their machines, and they have more than any other bank does on STX. The best part is that First Bank has branches on quite a few islands in the caribbean, so I can often find a bank when traveling.

The territorial government uses direct deposit, but don't now if many other employers do.

Our paycheck goes in our stateside B of A account by direct deposit and we have a local Banco Popular account because among Banco Popular, First Bank and Scotia Bank, BP had the lowest minimum balance for a fee free account. The BP account is called "Ideal" and it's an interest earning checking and savings account requiring only a $500 minimum balance to avoid fees. First Bank told us that there is no way to avoid fees on any of their checking accounts and Scotia Bank had a minimum $2000 balance at all times to avoid fees. Given the variety of experiences people have had with local banks I suspect that what they offer varies from time to time and possibly person to person!

We use First bank for an "island" bank account - excellent customer service here at the Christiansted Branch. We also have an Off-island bank account with a credit union in the states and they offer a 'bill paying service' which is accepted by most of the professionals here on island - vets, school fees etc.
my point (yes, I do have one!) is that there are quite afew ways to go and it is really up to personal preference and needs - examine your banking pattern present and future and interview the banks here on island and in yr home town. Best fit wins!