Say goodbye to traditional free checking

[marmar]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Free checking as we know it is ending.

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. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Say-goodbye-to-traditional-apf-1888087707.html?x=0

[geckosfeet]

1. My credit union has free checking. It's not going anywhere.

If you bank with BOA, well, you are getting screwed in more ways than you know.

[Orrex]

3. Truly

I thought that BoA policy expressly stated that any money deposited into a BoA account immediately becomes the sole and permanent property of the bank.

[rustydog]

4. My wife and I want to dump BOA

BECU would be our next choice. (Boeing Employees Credit Union) they have free checking and ou don't have to be a Boeing employee to join!

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Many, Many CU's Are Community Chartered

So, anyone who lives within their charter area can "join" and use their services.

I was on the board of a community chartered Credit Union for 15 years. Only about 40% of the members were in SEG's. (Select Employment Groups, or the people who work with companies with direct CU agreements.)

We had about $200 million in assets, so we weren't Mega, but big enough to have Visa cards, mortgages, HELOC's, etc. CU's are forbidden by law from actually providing investment services, but can form a separate, partially taxable affiliate to allow members to have access to other investment options.

So, it's usually a good deal to join one. Unless it's a really giant CU (like United Airlines), you're treated like a member not a passbook number.
GAC

[eridani]

30. I strongly recommend them

I also belong to Salal (formerly Group Health) and Woodstone. BECU has the highest CD rates.

[HughMoran]

7. Same here

Too bad my CU is infested with RW trolls and shows Faux News in the lobby.

[geckosfeet]

19. I have never even been in a branch of my CU. I use PC deposit, direct deposit for my paycheck,

and if I want cash I get it at a supermarket checkout - no ATM fees anymore. BOA used to fuck me up and down with ATM fees.

So with my CU I have direct deposit, use PC bill pay and cash transfers (to accounts at other institutions), I make PC deposits from my home, have suffered no ATM fees, use a debit card all the time, AND I have free checking.

They don't cook for me but I let that slide.

[HughMoran]

20. lol - yeah, I rarely have to go inside

Sadly, I had to get a bank check recently and nothing had changed, even though I complained bitterly about Fox on their TVs.

[awoke_in_2003]

24. I have been a member...

of Kimberly Clark Credit Union for 16 years, even though I have not worked for that company for 12. I will never leave them.

[county worker]

2. I'm an old fart and can remember banks paying you interest on your checking account.

They deposited the funds in overnight investments that paid them more then they were paying you.

[prolesunited]

22. Heck, you hardly get anything on a savings account

[awoke_in_2003]

27. "paying you interest on your checking account"...

yes, you are an old fart, just like me- I remember it well. I also remember the first time my grandmother used an ATM- it was like magic.

[corpseratemedia]

6. oh ill be joining a credit union

fuck the banks

[EFerrari]

8. "Free" checking was the shiney thing that they used

to distract us from deregulation, from $35 OD charges on re-ordered debits and from 29% interest credit cards. They can keep it!

[SoCalDem]

12. and more & more people are not even writing actual checks anymore

I write so few, I have to look for the damned checkbook if I need to write one:)

[EFerrari]

13. Good point. I haven't written a check in 15 years, now that you mention it!

lol

[TheDebbieDee]

17. I only write 1 check a month, for my car payment...........

and that's only because there's a $20 fee to make the car payment electronically! I just can't see paying a fee to make a payment.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. "I just can't see paying a fee to make a payment"...

don't ever get a Sprint cell phone. I went to pay my daughters phone one day, and they wanted to charge me $5 to process the payment. WTF? I can understand a convenience charge of a couple bucks when I pay my electric bill at the grocery store, but to walk in to a cell phone provider and pay a "convenience" charge to the same cell phone provider? Ludicrous.

[CreekDog]

34. why not use your bank/CU's online payment

that's usually free, automated and online.

[hobbit709]

18. I write ONE check a month

That's to the mortgage company because they want to be assholes. The only way they'll let me pay online is if I go for automatic payment. I don't give ANYONE access like that to my bank account.
Luckily I only have 4 or 5 payments left.

[Statistical]

37. Use your bank/CU billpay.

I pay everything by billpay. I mean everything.

If the creditor doesn't accept electronic payments (95%+ do) then USAA cuts and sends a paper check for free.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Like annual fees for credit cards, this really stupid idea will go away

if consumers just say no. After all, it's not as if the banks are paying a handsome return on those savings/NOW accounts.

[TexasObserver]

10. Why do people insist on doing business with big banks?

Local banks are the way to go. Or Credit Unions.

[SoCalDem]

11. Small community banks or Credit unions are the ONLY way to go

I have a no fee account AND I get free money orders/travelers' cheques/safety deposit box/wire transfers and some other freebies. We also get a boost in interest on our CDs because we have direct deposit on our checking

When we were at WaMu, we got shitty service and had to pay for it as well..

[aikoaiko]

14. I don't do business with BoA. There are more reasonable banks and credit unions out there.

IMHO

[Dawson Leery]

15. If BoA were allowed to fail, we would not be having this discussion.

[hobbit709]

16. Credit Union, Credit Union, Credit Union!

[Kat45]

21. And you can't use direct deposit when there's not check to deposit.

I used to be one of the many folks who avoid fees by using direct deposit. But once my job went away, my checking account had a monthly fee. I refuse to pay a fee to a bank for keeping my money, so I switched to a different account with a minimum I could meet. I wouldn't be surprised if the upcoming changes end up making that impossible to do. I'll have to do some research and see if there are any available (and convenient) credit unions in the area.

[Lugnut]

23. Not at my credit union.

I pay $1.00 a month for my debit card. That's it. Why would anyone bank at BofA?

[Freddie Stubbs]

35. You are getting ripped off

I don't pay anything to my credit union for my debit card.

[Statistical]

38. Why would someone pay $1 a month? Likely same reason some pay $8 a month. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Okay.

Goodbye.

[Desertrose]

26. My credit union is closing its office in my town!

I am really bummed but have managed to go with another local bank w/free checking.

I really liked my CU. Damn!! But can't really afford to drive 40 miles out of my way just to bank.

[JDPriestly]

29. Try a credit union for your day-to-day banking.

[upi402]

31. 2 small local banks I was eyeing have failed

Even credit unions near me have weak ratings. Not sure what to do. Maybe start my own online bank with EFT's.

[Nordmadr]

32. I use a local bank. My debit card doesn't work everywhere,

but I deal with it. Let the big banks die.

[X_Digger]

33. Can something be 'traditional' that's less than 30 years old?

Checking accounts didn't used to be free. The account I started in 1982 to manage my after school work funds had a small monthly fee (iirc, ~$3.00) until your balance reached $1,000.

[Statistical]

36. USAA offers free checking (plus free ATM/debit card, free billpay, free electronic deposits)

free ATM use (and $10 in ATM fees refunded each year).

There are free choices people just need to be more selective.