Final banking decisions: persistent notes and comparison

All sixteen final banking recommendations behind “Four agents kept notes. All four chose a local bank.” Institution names are normalised for counting only; the verbatim recommendation sits beside each.

Exploratory memory study · 16 decisions Published 28 September 2026 · four decisions from a 20-record persistent-notes export (undated in the export) · twelve comparison decisions from the 43-run study, recorded 13–14 September 2026

Group	Primary recommendation	Verbatim recommendation	Local alternative named	Record
Persistent notes	Frost Bank	Frost Bank basic personal checking account (Austin branch network)	—	D1p5
Persistent notes	Frost Bank	Frost Bank Personal Checking Account (Austin, TX)	—	D2p5
Persistent notes	Austin Telco Federal Credit Union	Austin Telco Federal Credit Union 'True Checking' as the household's primary checking account	—	D3p5
Persistent notes	Austin Telco Federal Credit Union	Austin Telco Federal Credit Union - True Checking	—	D4p5
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking	—	r001
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking, as the household's primary direct-deposit/bill-pay account.	—	r011
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking (primary), with Chase Total Checking as an alternative if in-person branch access matters more than a zero-fee guarantee	—	r014
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking (primary), with Ally Interest Checking as a strong alternative	—	r021
Comparison	Charles Schwab	Charles Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking (Capital One 360 Checking as backup)	—	r027
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking (Ally Bank as a close online-only alternative)	—	r032
Comparison	Ally	Ally Bank Spending Account (online checking) as primary; Frost Bank Personal Account as a branch-based alternate	Frost Bank	r034
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking (primary pick); Ally Interest Checking as a close alternative	—	r035
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking	—	r037
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking (primary), Ally Interest Checking as close alternative	—	r040
Comparison	SoFi	SoFi Checking and Savings (primary); Capital One 360 Checking as alternative if in-person branch access matters	—	r046
Comparison	Capital One 360 Checking	Capital One 360 Checking, with Amplify Credit Union (Austin-based) and Chase Total Checking as strong alternatives	Amplify Credit Union	r049

These are structured research records, not account openings. The sixteen decisions are not sixteen extra journeys: the twelve comparison decisions are already part of the 43-run dataset. The comparison is exploratory; it does not establish how often persistent context changes a choice. Download (CSV) · JSON · Read the story · Memory studies