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In this gig, I run into all sorts of examples of mystifying consumer behavior. One of the big ones, however, is why people keep their checking accounts at big, national banks.

This is not a knock on the Bank of Americas and Wells Fargos of the world, per se. They are presumably good at some things. But I’ve been happily banking with online banks (USAA, then BankDirect and now Charles Schwab) for more than a decade and have never missed having a branch, let alone the lines at what was then called Chemical Bank back in the 1990s.

My loose checks have headed off to Texas or Orlando for deposit in (postage-paid) envelopes; now I take a picture of them with my phone and send Schwab the snapshots. I can talk to people on the phone if I need help, and they are nicer than the tellers I used to encounter in Manhattan. And the bank reimburses me for many of my A.T.M. fees.

It’s possible that you are among the high-balance crew who still get free checking from big banks and always will. Or perhaps you think their services are worth whatever monthly fee you pay.

As for the rest of you, what’s keeping you from switching? You can read this weekend’s Your Money column for my attempt at knocking down some of the most common excuses.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9a995f8b90781151fe43444383cd83fd