Free Checking is Disappearing......Huffington Post

[Stuart G]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/free-checking-is-disappea_n_769298.html


NEW YORK — Free checking as we know it is ending.
PALLAVI GOGOI | 10/19/10 09:27 PM |

The days when you could walk into a bank branch and open an account with no charges and no strings attached appear to be over. Now you have to jump through some hoops – keep a high balance, use direct deposit or swipe your debit card several times a month.

One new account at Bank of America charges $8.95 per month if you want to bank with a teller or get a paper statement.

Almost all of the largest U.S. banks are either already making free checking much more difficult to get or expected to do so soon, with fees on even basic banking services.

It's happening because a raft of new laws enacted in the past year, including the financial overhaul package, have led to an acute shrinking of revenue for the banks. So they are scraping together money however they can.

Bank of America, which does business with half the households in America, announced a dramatic shift Tuesday in how it does business with customers. One key change: Free checking, a mainstay of American banking in recent years, will be nearly unheard of.

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This statement further down says it all........These people are crooks, ...then, now, tomorrow, always...

"Customers never had free checking accounts," Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace said. "They always paid for it in other ways, sometimes with penalty fees."

[phantom power]

1. Honest banking would probably *require* checking fees. It's a service to be paid for.

I think the whole "free checking" thing started as being paid for by interest the banks earned lending (our) money. Gradually, things drifted into less-savory revenue streams.

A truly honest banking system would involve us paying fees for the services banks provide. No shenanigans. Same for credit/debit cards. Charge a nominal annual fee for using the card. $20 or something. In addition to the fee they get for each transaction. Stop the predatory scams for other revenue.

[GOTV]

2. Why can't banks cover the cost of providing me with checking by ...

... by loaning out my money?

[phantom power]

3. No reason.

Although in this economy, with their splendid ponzi scheme crashing down around them all, it may not be enough. I'm currently of the "fuck them, I'm using a credit union" philosophy, although as time marches on we should of course be on the lookout for credit unions to become the new banksters some day.

If they want to shave some off of the interest they get from loans to make my service free, that's OK, although arguably if I have a big balance I'd rather they charged me the nominal fee and upped my interest rate. It costs them the same to store the floating point values with large numbers as it does the floating point values with smaller numbers.

[gmoney]

6. No. It was always intended to attract low-income people.

I was working with (not for) a bank at the time they instituted the "free checking" program. Previously, they'd charged a nominal fee of like $4.00 a month for basic checking ($48/year). But they bought into the "totally free checking" scheme, as studies showed it would attract more low-income, low balance customers who would be more likely to bounce two or more checks a year ($70+/year). Never mind that these people could least afford bounced check fees, or that they'd often be penalized by the recipient of the check, and that the recipient's bank would "present" the check three times in three days (for three fees) but the customer wouldn't receive written notice in the mail until at least 2 days had passed. It was a way to beat up on the poor people.

You could buy "overdraft protection" which would remove the bounced check fees (provided the bounce amount wasn't more than your preset limit of $300 or so), but that would cost you $4 a month, plus 20% interest on the amount of any overdraft.

And, with the introduction of "Free" checking, it gave banks the excuse to raise fees on their "premium" checking services.

Win. Win. Win. And the customer loses, loses, loses.

Obama's banking reform limits some of these fees, sets some account "defaults" to protect the customer, rather than making them "opt out" of being screwed, and there's just not the money in it.

Funny, I could have SWORN that every bank stock has been skyrocketing due to earnings far in excess of anticipated...

[PoliticAverse]

4. Two words: "credit union". n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

8. hear hear!!

[JohnWxy]

5. moveyourmoney.info/find-a-bank (or credit union) link....

http://moveyourmoney.info/find-a-bank

The Move Your Money project is a nonprofit campaign that encourages individuals and institutions to divest from the nation’s largest Wall Street banks and move to local financial institutions.

Our project was started around a dinner table before Christmas by Arianna Huffington and a few friends as a discussion of how individuals could limit the power of the big banks and create a more sane, stable financial system. The solution was simple: move your money out of the “Too Big To Fail” banks and into local community banks and credit unions. These smaller financial institutions are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to have. Plus, they tend to have fewer fees and offer better returns for consumers. It’s neither a conservative nor liberal idea; just a way for individuals to vote with their dollars and create a better financial landscape.

Thanks in part to a great video, in part to its simplicity and in part to the thousands of people who have taken up the cause, the idea spread like wildfire. More than 150 different media outlets have covered the campaign, from major sources like CNN and ABC World News to small-town newspapers and student weeklies. Major politicians and celebrities like Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Bill Maher, Michael Moore and Alan Cumming have endorsed the idea, and large national organizations are hopping on board to take our message to their members (check out our Campaigns page to see whom we’re working with).

In our short existence we’ve had some amazing success. An estimated two million people have left their big banks in the first three months of 2010, and even more are on their way. A Zogby poll showed that nine percent of American adults had moved some of their money away from the big banks in protest, and a JD Power and Associates survey revealed that almost two-thirds of consumers would consider leaving their bank. As a result of all this moving, local banks and credit unions are opening record numbers of new accounts.

We started out as an all-volunteer operation, but as the idea has taken off we’ve realized the need to grow. We are now organized as a nonprofit and are raising money to help hire a few staffers and give them the support they need. If you can, please consider making a donation below.

Thanks for stopping by. We hope this idea will continue to spread in a thousand different ways.

[sce56]

7. I have been using Credit Unions since last century! Best way to not be harrased and no fees

http://www.cbcfcu.org/home/easy

easy and free checking
Quick Links

* Apply for Membership
* Reorder Checks
* Find an ATM
* View Rates

Easy and Free Checking
Free, no surprises checking

* Dividends
* FREE PC Access Internet banking
* FREE Shared ATM network
* FREE Direct Deposit
* No per check charge
* No monthly service charge ATM
* Overdraft from Savings, Money Market, or Line of Credit
* FREE telephone account access
* FREE electronic check images
* FREE SmartPay online bill payment
* ATM Card
* Visa® Debit Card


Check Reorder

Reorder checks fast with just a few clicks. Customize your checks or add a checkbook cover to express yourself. It's easy - start by clicking the Reorder Checks Quick Link.

Direct Deposit

Direct Deposit allows you to have a regularly recurring paycheck deposited directly into one of your credit union accounts by electronic transfer. There is never a chance of your check being lost or stolen and you always know exactly when the money is available. Many employers encourage direct deposit. Consult your payroll administrator for details.

Payroll Deduction

For automatic savings, you can have your paycheck split among various accounts through automatic Payroll Deduction. This can be done in conjunction with Direct Deposit or, if your employer allows it, as a separate service. For example, you could arrange to have $100 deposited to your savings account, a $250 payment made on your credit union loan, and the rest credited to your checking account. What could be easier? A Member Service Representative will be happy to complete the Payroll Deduction application for you to begin this service.

With Smart Pay the bank pays the bills for free including mailing the check!