ACH transfers to personal account within US

Flion

I'm a non US citizen and have doubts in using the ACH transfers. In Europe, I can transfer the money to a friend's account easily and for a very small fee, 1-2$ or so. If the transfer is within the same bank it will be free of charge. I lived in the Middle East and it works the same. When I visited US I opened a non-resident checking account with Capital One Bank and deposited some funds with the idea to transfer it to my brokerage account or to friend. I accessed on-line banking however I'm unable to transfer funds to an account given in the payment instructions. My bank chat agent tells me they don't have my broker in the system and the only way is to use a wire transfer which costs 25$ and has to be made by phone - calling the Bank, which defeats the idea of on-line banking. It is difficult for me to understand this concept as in EU and Middle East it is possible to transfer the money to any account as long as you have the correct payment instructions. Is the bank agent correct about it?