The problem with this is that there are lots of people such as the self-employed and employees of small businesses that don’t have direct deposit as an option. There are others of us that maintain multiple accounts (for instance, a local checking account for ATM access and small deposits and a high-yield checking through an online bank) and don’t necessarily want to send our direct deposit to a particular account.

Well, there is hope for those who are in this situation or that just want to take advantage of bonus offers requiring direct deposit. A direct deposit is simply an electronic transfer of funds to your account. This is usually done by a method known as ACH. The thing is that a ACH transfer to your account can be done in a number of ways besides through a company’s payroll department. Transfers from other bank accounts (either your own or someone else’s) and even from online payment services like Paypal are done by ACH as well. Unless a real person is looking at the detail of the ACH transfer, there is no real way to automatically tell if the ACH is a payroll deposit or not. Most of the time a bank will count these non-payroll transfers as a direct deposit, which allows you to avoid service fees and/or collect promotional bonuses based on the use of direct deposit.

The easiest way to simulate a direct deposit is by using another account you control that offers free outgoing transfers. Online savings accounts like ING Direct (click here for info on getting a referral for a $25 bonus), Emigrant Direct, or HSBC Direct all allow this. A few banks and credit unions offer this service free of charge as well. Some people have also successfully used PayPal transfers to simulate a direct deposit.

There is a lengthy thread on Fatwallet discussing this concept and compiling user experiences simulating direct deposits using various methods with different banks. I would caution that you SHOULD NOT CALL the bank and ask if whatever method will count, as they will almost always tell you no and it may tip them off to look for such activity on your account.

E-Loan Savings – I signed up for this one last year when they had the highest interest rate, but they have since dropped their rate. The interest rate drop along with a bad customer service experience trying to change my externally linked account make this an easy one to close. I called the 800 number and was told I had to submit a request through the website. I submitted the online request and they closed the account without issue.

EmigrantDirect – Another one that once had the highest interest rate, but has since fallen out of relevance. That along with their crappy website adds this one to the list. Same as ELoan, the 800 number instructed me to submit an online request, and upon submitting the online request they closed the account without issue.

HSBC Interest Checking – I only opened this with $1 for a $75 bonus. Except for the bonus, this account is crap. We are past the 180 days I have to keep it open to keep the bonus, so this account is gone. I sent an email through their Bankmail function requesting the account be closed and the funds be transferred to my HSBC Online Savings. It took several days, but they eventually closed the account as directed and transferred the funds to my savings account.
Citi Ultimate Savings – Another one opened with $1, this time for a $50 bonus. The interest rate is lower than competitors, so bye-bye Citibank! I couldn’t find my online user ID and password, so I just called the 800 number from the confirmation when I opened the account. I talked to the rep for about five minutes to get the account closed and a check sent to the house for the balance.

I know some people are asking why I bother closing the accounts that have no minimum balance requirement or fees, but I am just tried of having all of these abandoned accounts out there. It is all about simplification. On the off chance any of these accounts become the new rate leader, I can always apply for a new account if I really wanted to.

These four accounts are just the beginning. As time permits over the next several weeks I plan to go through my entire portfolio of accounts and analyze their role in our family’s finances, which of course I will chronicle here for everyone’s review and amusement. I really want to nail down the pros and cons of each account, whether its purpose could be better served by a different product, a justification for keeping the account and ultimately a decision on whether to put it to sleep. Stay tuned!