If you're in need of a new bank, Schwab is pretty great on a couple of fronts (and hilariously awful on others.)
The good:
1) They have great customer support. You call and get a super-nice, helpful real genuine person in Colorado or Arizona, 24/7.
2) They refund all your ATM fees from any ATM anywhere (this is maybe mostly a big deal in New York where cash only is still a major thing)
3) If you have an IRA with them, they have a suite of index funds which are well-regarded, and which you can trade for free.
The bad:
1) Their website is pretty awful, but also totally usable.
2) They have some restriction for their checking like you have to sign up with $5k or direct deposit or get an IRA or something, I don't remember. This didn't matter to me though, because I needed an IRA and use direct deposit anyway.
The con you listed isn't exactly accurate. You don't need an IRA, or direct deposit.
In opening a bank account, they automatically open a brokerage account, in doing so there is no minimum balance in either account. No direct deposits required, no IRA, no requirement to even use their brokerage accounts.
Real cons I've found:
1. You have to actually mail in a form to set up electronic transfers to other bank accounts (either your own or someone else's). After learning about square cash I no longer find this to be an issue.
2. You can't do international wire transfers directly from the bank account. You can however transfer the money to your brokerage account and do the wire transfer from there.
3. If you initiate an ACH pull from another bank account you have they place a 3 day hold on the money. Annoying but can be avoided if you can use an ACH push from the other bank.
And the pros:
1. They do refund all ATM fees, including foreign ATM fees. This was extremely useful when I was in Japan which is cash only and where I was getting hit with $15 ATM fees.
2. They also absorb the fee Visa imposes on foreign transactions (both currency conversion fees, an the Visa cross-border fee of approximately 1%).
3. Unlimited free checks, free return envelopes for sending in things you have to mail them.
4. Customer service so good I always put down the phone smiling and elated. I've never been transferred to another person when dealing with them!
All in all I highly recommend them unless you need to make cash deposits, or need to make international wire transfers frequently.
Schwab has been the only bank I have ever dealt with, and I have no intention of moving away. They are a professionally run outfit with focus on all the right things.
As mentioned, the customer service is stellar. I have never had to be on hold much more than a few minutes and the person on the other end has always been engaged and knowledgeable, all the while remaining totally professional. I think this image of them was cemented for me when I found that their hold "music" was that Friday's jobs report!
The website is not great on the usability front and some things are placed in questionable locations. The search functionality is also frustrating and obtuse many times. The same is true of the mobile app. However, they are functionally more than sufficient and work perfectly fine. And, worst case, you can always just call them or do the online chat.
I think they are on the more expensive side as a brokerage, but their integration there is satisfactory (that being said, I am not an active investor)
They also don't nickel and dime you on things. I was amazed when I found out that other banks charge for getting extra checks and a checkbook. Admittedly, checks are in less and less use these days, but you still need them sometimes. Schwab offers unlimited checks for free. Spare debit cards may be charged, but I am not sure. I have not lost my debit card (yet!)
The bank side is located in Reno, NV, so any checks have to be mailed there. However, this isn't entirely true. Schwab does have physical locations to serve their brokerage clients and since the Checking account requires a brokerage account (although it doesn't require it to be funded), you can still use their physical locations to deposit and withdraw money, and then move it around online or on the app.
I really love my experience with Schwab as well, and have been with them for a long time. Last I checked, the major restriction on their checking account is that you also need to open an investment account, but neither one has a minimum deposit so the overhead isn't actually super substantial.
There are some interesting feature gaps in what they let you do on the site, that occasionally mean you might have to send them a physical letter or fax (!), but on the whole I'm pretty content with the functionality there as well.
The good:
1) They have great customer support. You call and get a super-nice, helpful real genuine person in Colorado or Arizona, 24/7. 2) They refund all your ATM fees from any ATM anywhere (this is maybe mostly a big deal in New York where cash only is still a major thing) 3) If you have an IRA with them, they have a suite of index funds which are well-regarded, and which you can trade for free.
The bad:
1) Their website is pretty awful, but also totally usable. 2) They have some restriction for their checking like you have to sign up with $5k or direct deposit or get an IRA or something, I don't remember. This didn't matter to me though, because I needed an IRA and use direct deposit anyway.