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Comment by exogen | Hacker News Reader

As a happy ING Direct customer, here are my comments:

- I'm extremely jealous of USAA's Deposit@Home feature. Depositing a check just by snapping a photo in an iPhone app? Yes, please.

- I've received an answer about the required linked account before, but I still don't like it. ING really can do everything I need from a bank - dealing with another one is just annoying.

- It sounds like you two are talking about depositing checks into an ING account by mail? I didn't even know that was possible. The only thing I use my linked checking account for is making deposits and then transferring them to ING. Why isn't this option mentioned in any help topics regarding deposits?

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Hey eggsagain,

I use USAA and it is awesome. I have never used deposit@home because I generally go for direct deposit, but maybe I'll try it. They give you pre-paid stamped envelopes for depositing checks. That is what I use for the rare times I have to cash a random check. Now that I live in NYC with copious blue boxes, it is even easier.

To join USAA you have to be a veteran or a relative of a veteran. I'm lucky that both of my parents were in the Navy. I've tried other banks and always felt I was getting shafted in some way. USAA, on the other hand consistently makes you feel like you are getting a good deal.

Actually, you don't have to be related to the armed forces in any way to join USAA bank. I am not even a US citizen, and I was able to sign-up without trouble. All you have to do is answer no to all the questions about the armed forces, and it will still allow you to open an account.

Depositing checks IS supported, at least for customers who have a "Electric Orange" checking account with ING Direct. We don't go out of our way to encourage people to do it because processing checks is expensive for the bank. But you can find instructions on our FAQ page: http://home.ingdirect.com/faqs/faqs.asp?s=Deposits

Depositing a check by snapping a photo with a phone? That's pretty fancy! But perhaps it's something we should take a look at.

I have USAA and use the Deposit@Home feature regularly. it is amazing and simple. I have deposited by scanner and by phone and have yet to have a check that didn't go through successfully and I've done it at least a hundred times. I don't use my USAA account for anything but that reason. Also, because of this feature I no longer use brick and mortar banks either.

The only checks I've had that don't go through are when the signature goes through the Account/Routing/Check number space. I'm guessing the errant pen stroke messes with the OCR they use.

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