I know different duty stations have banks known as fort --- federal credit union.
so what if you pcs. does your account go from ft campbell fed credit union to lets say ft bragg federal credit union?

or do you choose to switch banks when you pcs?

yes i know you can have a regular bank if you wish.

If it's a local bank with no branches--you're going to have to switch banks unless you can do it all online, like USAA.

You don't have to switch credit unions if you don't want to. We have our checking accounts with a NM credit union, and we PCS'd from that area 20 years ago.

i know the the ft(post name)credit unions are co-op for no atm fees almost everywhere but CONSIDERING that i would want to visit a bank if i was having problems i would have to switch from ft campbell credit union to ft bragg credit union myself is what im understanding now. i thought maybe they were all affiliated but kept the name of the post.

im checking out the usaa bank. was kind of hoping to find a bank with locations nationwide though. the trick is to find one that does not allow matricula consular which is how banks give accounts to illegal immigrants.

USAA is nationwide, so to speak...lol....hell it's worldwide really. Yeah, they only have the one branch physically located in TX, but you have access to everything, you can do pretty much everything online or on the phone....heck, you can even deposit checks online now--been doing that for 2 years now.
They've got 'secret squirrel' reps all over the country--one phone call or email and I've got a local rep coming to whatever function I have going on or off post!
Been with them for quite a few years too. I dig 'em and I'll never bank with anyone else--ever. Made that mistake once, I'll never make that mistake again.

People need to have a tax payer ID to open a bank account and ID. As for nationwide or near nationwide banks, there are several, almost all in financial trouble. Names like Citibank, Chase, BOA and others have branches in many cities. That may not help you. Unless you are in a state with a major presence, a large national bank may not have local offices, and are more likely to be hard to resolve problems with. I prefer a little smaller bank. And changing accounts is a pain, so I think finding a bank and living with it is a good things.

Just my opinions from years of dealing with banks.

USAA and Pentagon Federal are two of my favorites. It's good to be a member of a credit union should you ever need a consumer loan or credit card. They tend to be better at approving and servicing those types of credit with competitive rates. Every financial institution has strengths and weaknesses in their portfolios and the way they price and approve different types of credit lets you know what they prefer to have on their books.

Check to see also if there is a Navy Federal Credit Union on base or in the town. They are now going on AF and Army bases, so open to all branches. They do have accounts for AD personnel where they do refund ATMs. They are all over the world as well.