Direct Deposit

I opened my 5/3 account in Sandusky, and it works here in West Michigan perfectly; I make deposits and cash checks using my Ohio account number here at least once a week.

In terms of what Rob and Jen said, I'm not sure what would happen if you opened a 5/3 account in Michigan and then tried to access your account in Ohio. I assume it wouldn't be a problem as long as you weren't trying to set up direct deposit on your own once in Sandusky (I just took my checks to the bank physically last year when CP was with Firstar). Branches of the same bank work together, don't they?

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~Lee~

Group Sales ATL '01
Group Sales TL '02
Park Admissions Supervisor '03
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"The greatest leaders don't take credit for their actions; they don't have to."
*** This post was edited by Lee 2/26/2003 1:39:20 PM ***

For most banks, there's no problems accessing your account as long as you're at an ATM by the same bank. Bank One for Bank One, National City for National City, etc.

But as soon as you leave your network, such as going to Bank One to do something with your National City account, you open the door for both Bank One and National City to charge processing fees.*

* I don't think this is allowed anymore in California.

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17 straight years of real thrills and counting...
You know there's nothing good on TV when you're desperate enough to specifically look for infomercials.

I called H.R. yesterday and they said they were sticking with Firstar/US Bank for the 2003 season. :)

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2001 - Admissions Host/Resort Gate
2002 - Admissions Host/ATL Resort Gate
2003 - Admissions ATL (??? Gate)

Can anyone explain to me why only one bank is eligible for direct deposit? What does it save Cedar Fair? After all, it seems to me that a routing number is a routing number; it shouldn't matter that much which institution holds the account. There might be some small costs involved in wiring the funds, but banks *love* being on the receiving end of a direct deposit, as they can better plan their cash flows. They don't have to wait for you to get around to depositing your check. So, I'd guess that the costs are negligible to CF to pay to an arbitrary set of accounts.

I've worked in a fair number of places, and don't recall any of them restricting the set of banks to which direct deposit was possible.

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Brian Noble said:
Can anyone explain to me why only one bank is eligible for direct deposit? What does it save Cedar Fair? After all, it seems to me that a routing number is a routing number; it shouldn't matter that much which institution holds the account. There might be some small costs involved in wiring the funds, but banks *love* being on the receiving end of a direct deposit, as they can better plan their cash flows. They don't have to wait for you to get around to depositing your check. So, I'd guess that the costs are negligible to CF to pay to an arbitrary set of accounts.

I've worked in a fair number of places, and don't recall any of them restricting the set of banks to which direct deposit was possible.

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Quite possibly for the sake of uniformity? Or maybe some type of incentive for CP to run their money through a particular bank. Companies actually used to lose money on direct deposit for employee payroll because there is no "float" on the cash any more. ..who knows? as long as you get what you are supposed to get when you are supposed to get it!

I suppose a kickback is possible. I believe that U-M gets one from TCF for allowing student IDs to double as TCF ATM cards. This drives a signficant amount of business toward TCF, as I understand it.

As to why it matters: some banks' locations (branch/ATM) are more convenient than others. A few have decent account policies, but this is limited mostly to credit unions, not commercial banks.
*** This post was edited by Brian Noble 2/27/2003 4:50:51 PM ***

Cedar Point and their direct deposit drives me crazy.

I too want to know why we can't just pick our bank. They have their ATMs through National City (my bank), the checks are drawn on Key Bank, and they have a direct deposit contract with US Bank. I stick with National City just because of the ATMs, it's right by where I work, and the caf too, so I can get money when I want.

I asked a rep at the National City in Sandusky, and she said that Cedar Point actually opens it up for bid. She said that National City hasn't recently been interested. Whether there is money involved or not, I don't know. It's probably more like which bank is willing to have staff at the park in the early season and willing to open up 1,000 3-month accounts.

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Tyler
2001 Guest Services
2002 Guest Services TL
2003 Park Admissions Sup.

One possible reason they're using US Bank could be because the employee bus goes to Meijer's and it's convenient for those who don't have a car to go to the branch in Meijer's.

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Hotel Breakers Desk staff - 2002

Firstar again?! Good thing I am bringing a car with me this year...if anyone needs a lift to 5/3, let me know!

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~Lee~

Group Sales ATL '01
Group Sales TL '02
Park Admissions Supervisor '03
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"The greatest leaders don't take credit for their actions; they don't have to."