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Dollar Scholar Asks: What's the Best Way to Transfer Money Between Accounts?

By: Julia Glum
Julia Glum, expert in the IRS, taxes, credit scores, saving, colleges, mobile payment apps, and News Editor at Money
Julia Glum
News Editor | Joined February 2018
Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money.
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Published: Oct 06, 2023 7 min read
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Rangely García for Money

This is an excerpt from Dollar Scholar, the Money newsletter where news editor Julia Glum teaches you the modern money lessons you NEED to know. Don't miss the next issue! Sign up at money.com/subscribe and join our community of 160,000+ Scholars.

Now that fall is in full swing, I'm reflecting on what a great summer I had.

I attended an outdoor concert in the middle of Central Park; I saw the Sistine Chapel in Italy. I hiked to the top of a 260-foot waterfall; I shopped at a worm-themed store in Philadelphia. I played pinball in a boardwalk arcade; I marathoned Barbenheimer. And I transferred a lot of money to make it all happen.

My bank account has been as active as I've been, what with all the shuffling I've been doing between savings and checking, all the brunch bills I've divided between friends on Venmo and all the Zelle tips I've given to my manicurist.

So active, in fact, that I've started to get a bit nervous. Not about my spending — it was fully justified and fun as hell — but about the actual mechanics of moving money from place to place: Is it safe? Can the funds get lost between points A and B?