Direct Deposit

tiki

USMA 2015 Appointee
5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Messages
75
So I recently set up an account through PenFed to use for the direct deposit stuff that needs to be set up before R-Day. And all that's left to be filled out is the third part of the direct deposit form (the part where it needs to be filled out by the financial institution). I will have to mail the form to the financial institution since there is not a location near me. However, I could not find any information regarding how it is supposed to be mailed. Do we need to send anything besides the sign-up forms in the mail regarding what they need to do? Will they automatically send it back?

Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to mess any of this up and I don't have much experience before now with all this banking/financial stuff!
 
I'm so confused by this whole process. I understand to send in the $2000 deposit but we need to set up a bank account?
 
The whole money and bank account thing is confusing. What we did was contact the bank we decided to use (we went with USAA because of the ability to scan in a check and drop it in our childs account. She has access to the money immediately). They sent us a direct depost form filled out with their information. We then just sent that along with the $2000 to the address the academy provided. It must of worked because the pay gets deposited in the right account every month. (at least that how I remember us doing it). Best bet, get a phone number and give the bank a call. They are all very helpful.
 
Banks, especially PEN FED are used to dealing with DD forms. They will fill it out and send it back to you.

According to the instructions to candidates, you are supposed to bring the form with you when you report, NOT send it in earlier, although you will be sending the initial $2000 in sooner (that goes to the Treasurer, USMA, not your bank account).

Yes, Shanice, you do need a checking account. Most cadets find it best to have an account with a bank that is near West Point. PEN FED and USAA are familiar with the military, and USAA has great services when it comes to depositing funds--the scan and deposit is just one of them. However, some cadets like to keep with banks close to home so mom and dad can "supplement" their accounts easier.

Your choice, but you will need to set up for automatic deposit--no checks are issued at West Point.
 
I'm still sort of confused. I already sent in the $2000 to the Treasurer but conserning the DD form, we just put it in an envelope to send to PEN FED and they will automatically return it to us after they fill it out? Because I called earlier and they said something about how we needed to fax them the forms and they would fill it out and send it to West Point but that doesn't sound right considering I didn't see anything about faxing anything in the candidate information...
 
Pen Fed Rep for West Point

If you are choosing Pen Fed for your bank, I have been given approval by them to post a local contact name at West Point branch for you to assist in setting up the new account.

Lorinda Lowe
Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Building 600, Taylor Hall
West Point, NY 10996

email: lorinda.lowe@penfed.org

phone: 845-446-3375 (no voicemail option)

Send Lorinda an email with your information and she'll make sure everything is done correctly, whether you are just starting the process or already into it.
Good Luck.
 
If you are choosing Pen Fed for your bank, I have been given approval by them to post a local contact name at West Point branch for you to assist in setting up the new account.

Lorinda Lowe
Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Building 600, Taylor Hall
West Point, NY 10996

email: lorinda.lowe@penfed.org

phone: 845-446-3375 (no voicemail option)

Send Lorinda an email with your information and she'll make sure everything is done correctly, whether you are just starting the process or already into it.
Good Luck.

This is good advice. My cadet tried to do everything over the phone last year with the PenFed folks at the toll-free number and everything got messed up. We ended up stopping by the Highland Falls branch when he had his overnight visit and were able to get everything straightened out. They even delivered his paperwork to the right place at the right time. Very helpful folks!
 
SECTION 2

DS tried to fill out his Direct Deposit form while home on spring break, opened an account at USAA, and they sent back the Direct Deposit form without filling in Section 2 (Govt Agency Name and Address). He contacted them, they said he would have to find that info out, they won't fill in that part.

Now he's back at school, so I'm trying to help out here -- anyone have the info for Section 2? I would have thought USAA would have that info but apparently not, and I cannot find it in the instruction PDF, so I thought I'd check here.

Thanks much,
RLTW
 
Section 2 you must fill out yourself.

The Candidate PDF says:

Gov. Agency Name: U.S. Military Academy
Gov. Agency Address: West Point, NY 10996
 
No problem! I always have to read over this stuff multiple times...it's easy to miss!
 
Another. Senior. Moment.

Yup. Dopey me. I reread the PDF and this time went right to it. I think before I must have somehow jumped from the bolded text right above it on down to the #2 item, and missed the Section 2 stuff right there in between.

Another. Senior. Moment.
:redface:
 
We opened DD's account up at USAA--just right up the road. The great thing about an account there is the APP you can get on your smart phone. You can even make deposits from a mobile uploaded image of the check! The USAA rep was very helpful and knew exactly what to do with the account. They even "gave" DD a credit card (low credit limit) so she can start her credit history--I didn't even need to co-sign. I love USAA :smile:
 
I called up USAA yesterday asking about getting a credit card because I don't want to use a debit card while at USMA. They offer a pre-commissioning credit card designed for ROTC/academy folks and it's exactly what I was looking for. Only problem is you have to be a cadet before it can be ordered. Just an option for those out there looking into the financial bit of it all.
 
Recommendation

When I was up at the Academy last week I paid my son's $2k deposit. I talked with the fellow in the treasury who recommended that my son just go with USAA. No need to go through PenFed. He further stated that PenFed must cash checks from anybody upto either $200 or $250 (I can't remember exactly which) through agreement with West Point -- no matter what bank the check is drawn from.

Go with USAA - every military member I've ever met used them and was more than satisfied...
 
I'm so confused by this whole process. I understand to send in the $2000 deposit but we need to set up a bank account?

There are two seperate accounts. One account is with the USMA Treasurer (used to pay the bills of the cadet) and one that is an indvidual checking account completely controlled by the cadet. The $2,000 is the initial deposit for the Treasurer's account. The amount of money in the cadet individual checking account is up to you. Some of the cadet's monthly pay is put in each account (amounts determined by West Point).
In the candidate West Pont Portal is a document for download called "Instructions for Candidates Offered Submission". On page 5 the checking account is discussed. On page 6 the Treasurer's account is discussed. Again - two different accounts..
 
So, I received an already filled out direct deposit form from the Highland Falls office of PenFed after opening an account through them a few days ago. I plan on calling the office to ask this question myself at some point during the week but on the form I received, the box "Military Active" had been selected instead of the "Fed. Salary/Military Civilian Pay" box that the WP Candidate PDF instructs us to select...any idea on why this might be so?
 
penfed

By all means it is your decision what to do, but I personally went with USAA. One of the reasons was because my grandfather was in the military and he said they helped him in every way possible. However, the main reason was that I had read that PenFed was actually hacked into, numerous social security numbers as well as credit card and debit card numbers were stolen. Just something to think about.
 
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