Monthly Archives: June 2022

Chase: How accurate is Credit Journey’s Credit Score?

June 30, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Credit Journey is a free credit score monitoring service from Chase bank. It provides a wide range of information like overall score, how many credit accounts you have, age of your credit, credit utilization, recent credit score inquiries, late payments etc. You may wonder if Credit Journey accurately shows your credit score.

There are 3 agencies that provide FICO credit scores to banks. These are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Scores from each of these agencies can differ by a few points.

Chase uses the Experian version of credit score. It is VantageScore v.3. What I like in Credit Journey is that it updates credit scores weekly, while other credit tracking tools update their scores monthly. It means that most of the time the credit score from Credit Journey is more accurate than from others.

You should keep in mind, however, that credit scores presented in all credit score tracking tools are for education purposes. Often lenders receive their version of credit score. Credit card companies receive one version, when you apply for a mortgage bank receives another version. The likelihood that you will be approved or denied for a credit card is typically not affected by your exact score. So it doesn’t matter if your Credit Journey score is accurate. You may be turned down because of a high utilization rate or a high number of recent inquiries, but not because “your credit score is below 800 points.”

High credit utilization that Credit Journey presents is not always accurate. Its update can lag by a week. So when you pay off all your balances it can show high utilization for a few days. Therefore when you paid your credit card debt make sure to let this information to arrive in all credit bureaus. Otherwise it can seriously affect your odds of approval for a credit card, personal loan, auto loan, and mortgage. Accurate influence of this parameter from Credit Journey makes it a perfect way to quickly raise your chances.

Often credit education sites recommend you to keep utilization below 30%. However, my experience show that even an increase from 2% to 11% can drop credit score by 40 points.

You should also keep in mind, that opening checking account doesn’t affect your credit score.

How accurate is CreditWise credit score from Capital One?

June 17, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Capital One offers CreditWise as a free tool to track your credit score. You may wonder if CreditWise from Capital One is accurate. After all, why would you use a credit score tracker if it is not accurate? The short answer is yes, CreditWise is accurate. The long answer is yes, but sometimes it is less accurate than you may expect.

Sources

Example of accurate credit score of CreditWise sourced from TransUnion — CreditWise shows accurate credit score

Overall credit score or FICO credit score is provided by credit bureaus. The score is used to make a decision whether to approve you for a credit card, loan, mortgage, and any other type of credit. It helps lenders to estimate your credit worthiness.

Does CreditWise hurt your credit score?

No, CreditWise makes so called soft pull of your credit score. In contrast with a hard inquiry it doesn’t count towards your recent checks. The same can be said about other credit score tracking tools like Chase Credit Journey. Soft checks are not reported and you cannot find how many of them you have.

CreditWise Mobile app shows Vantage Score — CreditWise Mobile App

You should also be aware that opening checking account doesn’t affect your credit score.

What credit score does Capital One CreditWise use?

Capital One and CreditWise use Vantage score from TransUnion. There are 3 major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. They never show the same credit score. The score is always a few points more or less than others. That is why people often have doubts whether the presented credit score is accurate. When you apply for a credit card or a loan, you have to find out which score your new lender checks.

How accurate is CreditWise from Capital One?

Credit score is as accurate for the date it was last updated. It means if your credit score was updated 20 days ago, then your credit score is not very accurate. We can check FICO credit scores from 3 credit bureaus using tools of many banks and decide whether the score is accurate.

For example, Chase has “Credit Journey” that uses Experian to track your credit score. The benefit of Chase is that it checks credit score weekly. American Express has “MyCredit Guide” that show Vantage credit score from TransUnion.

How often does CreditWise update?

Like the majority of other credit score trackers, CreditWise updates once a month. It means that credit wise is not always accurate. In contrast, Chase Credit Journey updates weekly. It means it Credit Journey is more accurate.

Example of credit score sourced from multiple banks

Tool	Bureau	Date Updated	Score
Capital One CreditWise	TransUnion	16	723
Mint by Intuit	TransUnion	14	723
SoFi			723
Chase Credit Journey	Experian	8	722
American Express	TransUnion	6	729
Wells Fargo	Experian	Previous month	729
Bank of America	TransUnion	Previous month	751
CitiBank	Equifax	Previous month	757
US Bank	TransUnion	Previous month	732

Credit Score from various sources

How to link external account Wells Fargo?

June 17, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Before you transfer money link external checking account to your Wells Fargo account. After external account is linked you can transfer money from external bank account to your Wells Fargo account or from your Wells Fargo account to an external bank account.

Click on “Transfer & Pay” in the top menu and hover over “Transfer Money”

Wells Fargo Account Summary screenshot with menu open

On “Transfer Money” screen your have to click on “Add account” that is placed right after “Non-Wells Fargo accounts”

On “Add Non-Wells Fargo Account” screen you have to select “Account type” and how you are going to use the external account. Select “Transfers and payments”. Then scroll down.

After you scrolled down you have to enter “Account number” and “Routing Number” of your external checking account. These numbers can be found on your paper check if you received a check book. Otherwise you can find these number on banks website or in its mobile app. Then click “Continue”.

Wells Fargo account number and routing number

After you clicked “Continue” Wells Fargo suggests to verify all the details of the account you want to link.

Then you have to scroll down and verify account number and routing number of your external bank account. Then click “Add Account”

After you click “Add Account” you have to wait for two trial deposits to confirm that you own the external account.

Wells Fargo Transfer Money confirm two trial transactions

Once you receive the trial transactions in your other bank account you have to click on “Confirm the amounts”.

After you enter the numbers, you can click on “Submit”. Once the external checking account is verified, you can transfer money to your Wells Fargo account and out of your account.

Unfortunately Wells Fargo hasn’t integrated service like Plaid to instantly link external accounts.

6 ways to Add Money to Wells Fargo Checking Account

June 16, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

As a new owner of Wells Fargo Checking account you may wonder how to add money to your bank account. It is a good idea to keep at least a $500 balance or set up a monthly direct deposit of $500. This way you don’t have to pay the $10 maintenance fee. First deposit can be made using your debit card or using your bank account.

ACH Transfer

You can link an external bank account. This method is called ACH Transfer, also known as automatic clear house transfer. Usually this transfer takes 2-3 business days to finalize. You can do it from your other bank or pull money using Wells Fargo. ACH transfers are free of charge, so you can use them a lot.

Deposit Paper Check or Cash

You can deposit paper checks and cash to your account. First way is to visit the Wells Fargo Bank branch and ask the teller to deposit cash or a paper check to your balance. This is an old school way that is rarely used these days. Second way is through deposit enabled ATMs. Majority of Wells Fargo ATMs allow you to deposit not only cash, but also paper checks. Third way allows you deposit only paper checks. The feature is called “mobile check deposit”. You can find it in the Wells Fargo Mobile App.

Setup Direct Deposit

If you earn money through your job or receive some benefits – you can setup direct deposit of your salary. In the case of a job, you can give a VOID check to your employer, or setup direct deposit manually through your payroll service. TO do this you’ll need the account number and routing number of your checking account.

Wire Transfer

To transfer a large amount of money to your Wells Fargo Checking Account from your external bank account, you can send money via wire transfer. You’ll need the account number and routing number of your Wells Fargo Checking Account to make it too. Wire transfers require you to pay a fee of $30 or so. The amount of fee depends on the bank from which you send the money.

Zelle Transfer

Wells Fargo is one of the founders of Zelle. No surprise it supports Zelle from the very beginning. It means you can receive money right on your checking account. For this, however, you’ll have to enroll your Wells Fargo account into Zelle service. You can use your phone number or email to identify yourself in the system. But you should be aware that Wells Fargo has certain limits on Zelle transfers.

These are 5 ways that you can use to fund your Wells Fargo Checking account.

How to Transfer money Wells Fargo?

June 16, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Transfer money to and from Wells Fargo checking account maybe needed if you have an account in other bank. For example, you may want to transfer money to Cash App. When you change your bank you also have to move money between banks. You can use 2 ways to transfer money – website and mobile app.

Wells Fargo Website

First you have to open Wells Fargo website and login using your user name and password. If you enabled 2-factor authentication, you may need to enter 6-digit verification code. After you login to your Wells Fargo bank account, you can click on “Transfer & Pay” and then in the drop-down menu click on “Transfer Money”

On “Transfer Money” page select account FROM which you want to transfer money and account TO which you want to transfer money. You may need to link an external account before using it. Check how to link external bank account to your Wells Fargo account here. You must set date when to send money and set amount that you want to transfer. When everything is ready, click “Continue”

Wells Fargo transfer money from — Wells Fargo Transfer from external bank account.

Maximum amount you can transfer per day is $5,000 and it is going to take 3 business days to finish.

Wells Fargo transfer confirmation — Wells Fargo Confirmation

You can find more detailed instructions in the following video.

Wells Fargo ACH transfer using Mobile App

Watch the following instructions on how to transfer money from and to Wells Fargo checking account using mobile application.

Is there a transfer limit for Wells Fargo?

Often banks impose limits on incoming and outgoing money transfers. Wells Fargo ACH transfer has a limit of $5,000 per day. If you want to transfer large amount of money, you may want to consider wire transfer or deposit paper check.

3 Ways to Transfer Money Between Banks

June 15, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

When you have more than one bank account and want to transfer money from one checking account to another you need a way to transfer money. Withdrawing cash from one bank and then depositing it to another has limitations. Moving large amounts of money in a bag is not a very good idea. There are few ways to safely transfer money between your bank accounts.

ACH Transfer

Banks have their limitations, but most of them support ACH transfer. You have to link your external bank account to your primary account. While big banks like Chase, Bank Of America, Wells Fargo make it easy, smaller mobile only banks can lack this functionality.

Use Plaid to connect accounts and transfer money between banks — Chime and Plaid

Most old school banks allow you to link external accounts manually via routing number and account number. Often the first bank makes tiny trial deposits to an external bank and requires you to submit the number. The amount of transfers is less than one dollar.

Some banks integrated third party services like Plaid. Using this service you can link external accounts instantly. Things are getting more complicated if the second bank is not supported by Plaid. For example, Chime and Varo don’t offer a manual link as a backup method. At the same time Cash App is not integrated. It means you cannot link the Cash App to Chime Bank. The only solution I’ve found is to make all transfers from the Cash App.

An ACH transfer is not an instant operation. It takes a couple of business days for banks to resolve the transfer.

Transfer money between banks using Mobile Check Deposit — Varo: Mobile Check Deposit

Paper Check

Most banks now support mobile check deposits. The feature was introduced more than 10 years ago, and is adopted widely banks. Some banks, like Chime allow you to use this feature only if you received direct deposit. Other banks allow it from the very beginning. To deposit a paper check to your checking account, you have to snap two pictures of the check and wait a day or two till money is available.

Some banks hold money longer. For example, Varo bank holds money for 5 days. At the same time Chase bank releases money on the next day.

Additionally Mobile Check Deposit has limits on the amount of the check. It can be $2,000 or $7,500 per month.

If you don’t like the limit, you may want to visit a bank branch and ask teller to make the deposit. Keep in mind, that some ATMs accept checks.

Wire transfer

Making a wire transfer from one account to another is an easy way to move large amounts of money. The same way as ACH transfer, you’ll need routing number and account number of your other bank account. The wire transfer is made on the same business day. The only downside of wire transfer is the fee. Usually banks take $30 to $40 per wire transfer.

These ways of transferring money between banks have their pros and cons. If you are in a rush – wire transfer is the best option. However, if you don’t want to pay the $45 fee, you may want to make an ACH transfer. Transfer through paper check may be a fine option if you wait a few more days.

How to deposit a paper check to your bank account?

June 14, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Some people receive paper checks often, others have never received a paper check. It all depends on your life style. Often you can receive refunds, remaining balances from accounts via paper checks. You may wonder, how to deposit these checks. There are 4 ways to deposit a paper check to your bank account.

Deposit in a bank branch

You can go to a bank and ask the teller to deposit check to your checking account. This old school way to claim payment that was sent to you via check. You visit your bank’s branch and ask cashier to make the deposit. This way takes time to go into the branch and stay in line. If it is a weekend or if you are short on time, you may want to get it done by yourself. Some banks don’t have branches. For example online-only banks like Capital One, Discover, Ally, and American Express have no branches. You can try the following ways.

Deposit check at an ATM

Modern ATMs have adopted a new feature that allows you to deposit paper checks just like a cash. You can deposit a paper check at your bank’s ATM. It is as easy as depositing cash. All you have to do is insert your debit card in the ATM, enter your PIN code and select “Deposit Cash.” When the ATM opens the slot for deposit, put the check inside. If the check is preprinted, ATM’s usually suggest the amount. If the check is handwritten, you have to enter the amount.

Most banks will make a check accessible the same day if it is less than $100. Checks for amounts greater than $100 are frequently ready the next business day. Be patient as the timeline is not guaranteed. The amount of the cheque you want to deposit is limited at ATMs. Typically, the cap is $5,000.

Make mobile check deposit

Mobile check deposit is a relatively new feature that is getting adopted by banks. Some banks call it mobile check capture or remote deposit. In 2013 only 10% of all US banks offered this feature. Now the feature is more widespread. You may also need to pass eligibility criteria. For example, Chime allows you to deposit paper checks only if you receive your salary to your Chime Spending account. Salary should come as a direct deposit. You can read more on how to mobile deposit paper check here.

Mail the check to your bank

Large checks often cannot be deposited using regular mobile check deposits. Some banks like Chime limit mobile deposits to $2,000. Chase considers checks over $7,500 as too risky and may want to receive them in mail via USPS. Other banks like Ally Bank limit checks over $50,000 as too large. It also depends on your relationship with the bank.

You can check limits of mobile deposits in my post here

Mailing a check can take a few days for the check to be delivered to your bank. It can easily take a week for the money to be added to your balance.

You can choose your preferred way to deposit a paper check based on your specific circumstances. You have to answer questions like: How urgently do you need the money? Are you “OK” to visit the bank’s branch? How big is the check?

How to Add Cash to PayPal?

June 14, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

When you have too much cash in your wallet it may be time to deposit money into your checking account. If you have a PayPal account, things are even easier. For this, you’ll need a PayPal balance account.

You can go to a retail store and instead of purchasing something you can ask the cashier to make the deposit for you. It is very easy. There are two options.

Use a deposit barcode

You can generate a special barcode using the PayPal mobile app and find an appropriate retail store. Check how to find a retail store below. Once you are in the store, go to the register. Tell the cashier that you want to make a deposit and how much you want to add. Then let the cashier scan the barcode. Check how to find the barcode below. Money should be available in minutes.

Use a PayPal Debit Card

When you visit a participating retail store you should be able to deposit cash at the register or in MoneyCenter if you are at Walmart. You should tell the cashier how much money you want to deposit. Then hand cash to the cashier and swipe your PayPal Cash Card. Don’t forget to take a receipt. Money should be added to your balance within a few minutes.

Where can I deposit cash?

The list of stores is rather long. You can deposit cash at more than 90,000 locations. The most familiar brands are Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven. You can find it in almost every state in the US.

A few less widespread stores include Dollar General, Family Dollar, Office Depot, and Rite Aid. The rest are more concentrated in a few states. You can find these locations in the PayPal application.

How much will the deposit cost?

Every deposit at a store costs a fee. Walmart has a $3 fee, while other stores take a $3.95 per deposit. If you think that fee is too high, you may want to consider other debit cards that have a free deposit or charge you a smaller fee. For example, Chime Debit Card allows you to deposit cash without a fee at Walgreens. Capital One in its turn allows you to deposit free at CVS Pharmacy. Cash App charges only $1 for a deposit.

What are the limits on deposits?

Limit	Amount
Each Deposit	$20 to $500 range
Daily Limit	$1,500
Monthly Limit	$5,000

PayPal Cash Deposit limits

How to find the barcode?

On your smartphone open the PayPal App. Then tap on “Add Money”, select “At a store, with cash” select the store and generate the code. Keep in mind, that barcode is valid for one hour. So make sure to not generate it too early.

The PayPal debit card has quite a few benefits that are often overlooked.

5 benefits of Capital One 360 Checking Account

June 12, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

Having a Capital One 360 Checking Account opens a lot of benefits to the lucky owner. Despite its annoying ads everywhere, Capital One is really good. The bank combines all the benefits of big banks and online only banks. I am not talking about standard features like Mobile Check Deposit, Zelle, Bill Pay, 360 Performance Saving account with 0.8% APY, earning small interest on your checking account balance. The most valuable benefits are the following.

Huge network of ATM’s

Free ATMs is a benefit of Capital One 360 Checking Account — Map of Capital One ATMs

Capital One has its own ATMs where you can deposit and withdraw cash. However, Capital One Debit Card allows you to take money from more than 70,000 fee free ATMs that are part of MoneyPass and Allpoint ATM networks. You can find these ATMs in stores like Target, Walgreens, and CVS. These ATMs are good for withdrawing cash. Next, read about free cash deposits.

Free cash deposits at CVS is a valuable benefit of Capital One 360 account

Free cash deposits are benefit of Capital One 360 account — Free deposit at CVS Pharmacy

Capital One has its own ATMs, where you can deposit and withdraw cash. Number of these ATMs is limited. How can you put cash into your 360 checking account?

Little known benefit of the Capital One 360 account is free cash deposits at CVS Pharmacy. Many other online-only banks like Current Bank, Spruce by HR Block allow you to deposit cash at CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, 7-Eleven and other retail stores. But you have to pay a fee, which is high and you are limited to $500 per deposit.

Making the deposit at CVS with Capital One is simple. Take your Capital One Mobile phone and go to the store. Open the Capital One mobile app and generate the barcode to deposit. Barcode expires within 30 minutes, so you want to have everything ready before you generate the code. Let the cashier scan the code and give money. Funds should be available on your balance in a moment.

Easy approval for Capital One Credit Cards like Quicksilver

Quicksilver credit card in Mobile Ap — Quicksilver Credit Card

Originally I wanted to get a Capital One credit card with a signup bonus. Capital One was not able to approve me instantly and requested additional information about my income. The procedure for sending proof of income felt long and complicated, so I abandoned the idea. After some time I opened the Capital One 360 checking account. Surprisingly I got an offer to apply for a Capital One Quicksilver credit card and this time approval was instant. So if you want to increase chances of being approved for a Capital One credit card, you can start with their checking account.

Unlimited Virtual Credit Cards with Capital One account

Virtual cards offered by Capital One — Capital One Virtual Cards

Once you get the credit card, you will find another benefit. Capital One has one super cool feature that you cannot find at big banks. The feature is called Virtual Credit Card. It helps you to prevent your credit card from being stolen after online purchase. When you need to make a purchase, you use Capital One Browser extension that generates a virtual credit card number, expiration date, CVV on the fly. Then you can make a purchase online just like with a regular credit card. After you made the purchase you can delete the card number.

Accounts for kids

Capital One Kids account is a benefit of Capital One 360 account — Capital One Money for Teens

If you have a child that is old enough to have their own debit card, you can open a Money Teen Checking account that earns 0.1% APY. Your child will get a Debit Card. What is even cooler is that you can open a Kids Savings Account with 0.3% APY. It is a high yield savings account that pays interest every month. That is definitely something to brag about.

Less know benefit is Capital One Creditwise that helps to track your credit score.

Overall, Capital One is my favorite bank because it has everything you could possible need under the same account.

How long does a Mobile Deposit take Wells Fargo?

June 12, 2022Answers to questionsSlava Money

When you receive a paper check, you need to deposit it to your checking account. Today mobile deposit of a paper check doesn’t take much time. Here is how you can deposit check with your phone. Most big banks make such a deposit quickly.

In a good old days to cash the check you had to visit a Wells Fargo branch and ask teller to deposit it to your account. Alternatively you could mail the check to Wells Fargo and they’ll deposit check for you. Then some ATM’s offered to deposit checks like a cash.

The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) was signed into law on October 28, 2003, and became effective on October 28, 2004.

In 2004 U.S. Congress passed a law called “Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act.” The recipient of the original paper check can make a digital copy of the original check as a substitute. It meant there is no need to handle the physical check and anyone can use computer scanner or smartphone to capture image of the check and deposit electronically. The process was also called “Remote Deposit.”

First check deposit using smartphone was offered in 2009 by Element Credit Union. In 2013 Wells Fargo and other 10% of US banks already adopted this handy feature. The following years more and more banks started offering the feature called Mobile Check Deposit aka Mobile Check Capture.

Wells Fargo check deposits rules

According to Wells Fargo Bank deposits made on business days by 9pm Pacific Time are typically available on the next business day. So deposits made on Monday are typically available on Tuesdays. Deposits made on weekends are often available on Tuesday’s.

Most of the time, when you deposit a check, a portion of the funds is made available to your account on the same day, with the remainder becoming available on the next business day.
Wells Fargo

However, some checks can take longer to process. It means that Wells Fargo can hold some of the mobile deposit a little longer. Usually Wells Fargo provides these details at the time of deposit or soon after.

There are few popular reasons for deposited check to be on hold.

Insufficient funds can put the check on hold for up to 7 business days.
Deposit of a check that was previously rejected due to insufficient funds.
New customers can experience up to 30 days delay.
Large deposits over $5,525 can put check on hold for up to 7 business days. Some part of the check can be released earlier.
Frequent overdrafts can hold checks more often.

In my experience, checks on small denominations like $100 are deposited without any issues. However, check on a large amounts usually take more time than suggested by Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo has its limits on Mobile Deposits. By default daily limit is $5,000 and $15,000 every 30 days.

Type of the paper check also plays its role. Handwritten checks tend to take more time because there is more room for a mistake. If a letter or a number is hard to recognize, then check can take more time to clear. Also it is a good idea to double check the amount with originator of the check and that checking account has enough funds. Pre-printed checks take less time to process, because issuing bank already knows how much money to allocate for the check. Government checks like tax refund are super easy to deposit, because banks trust that IRS will be able to pay the amount.