Last year, banks and financial regulators on Capitol Hill went head-to-head over swipes fees, the amount of money banks charge businesses each time they accept a debit card purchase. While swipe fees did end up being reduced by only a fraction of what had initially been proposed, banks are still whining about the pennies they are no longer bringing in. Thus, shoppers are receiving mixed messages from retailers and financial institutions about whether to use their debit card, credit card, or cash. [More]
debit card fees
Bank Of America Debit Card Fiasco Resulted In 20% Jump In Closed Accounts
By 1.23.12
Though Bank of America surely expected a certain amount of attrition when it announced it would begin charging a monthly fee for some customers to use their debit cards to make purchases, it probably didn’t expect that it would see a full 20% increase in the number of customers saying “bye-bye” to BofA. [More]
Justice Dept. To Put Debit Card Fees Under Antritrust Microscope
By 11.22.11
Even though Bank of America and a few others have — for now — ditched their plans to charge customers a monthly fee for making purchases with debit cards, the Justice Department has decided to look at the possible antitrust considerations surrounding the controversial proposals. [More]
Thanks, Bank Of America, For Not Burning Down My House Or Killing My Dog
By 11.17.11
When Bank of America recently decided to scrap its plan to not charge its customers a $5/month fee for using debit cards to make purchase, the bank said it had listened to what its customers thought about the idea. But should consumers be grateful to BofA for not doing something they shouldn’t have done in the first place? [More]
Chase Pulls Plug On Tests For Two New Fees
By 11.15.11
Like several of its fellow mega-banks, Chase has been testing out various new checking account fees in different regions of the country. But a pair of those tests have come to an end — and will hopefully never be seen again. [More]
650,000 People Joined Credit Unions In Just The Last Month
By 11.4.11
In the month following the announcement of Bank of America’s (subsequently scrapped) plan to charge a $5 fee to some of its debit card users, at least 650,000 Americans consumers have opened accounts at a credit union. According to some reports, that’s 50,000 more than the number of new accounts opened in all of 2010. [More]
With Debit Card Fees Disappearing, What Will Banks Try Next?
By 11.1.11
While today’s announcement that Bank of America is dropping its plan charge a monthly debit card fee, and that other big banks have similarly scrapped their fees, could be dubbed a victory for consumers, it’s only a small triumph, and one that has people wondering what the banks will do next. [More]
BofA Ending $5 Debit Card Fee
By 11.1.11
Bank of America is calling off its plan to charge debit-card users $5 a month, the WSJ reports. [More]
7 Easy Steps To Safely Switching To A New Bank
By 10.31.11
Given all the anger currently being directed toward a number of the bigger banks, it might be tempting to stroll into your local branch and walk out with all your money in a sack with a dollar sign on it. But if you want to switch your funds over to a new institution without running the risk of screwing up any automated payments of direct deposits, it will take a few steps. [More]
SunTrust Drops Monthly Debit Card Fee
By 10.31.11
With banks taking more and more heat from the banking public — and oodles of people reportedly switching accounts to more consumer-friendly credit unions — SunTrust announced today that it is eliminating the monthly debit card fee for Everyday Checking and will be refunding that fee to customers who have already paid. [More]
Credit Unions Seeing Surge In New Accounts
By 10.25.11
As you may have heard, more than a few people around the country have been out and about in recent weeks in protest of — well, in protest of a lot of things. But what many of these people (and many of us who are sitting in our homes) share in common is that they’re fed up with the super-sized banks and are looking for alternatives. This appears to have led a growing number of people to the front door of their local credit unions. [More]
Capture Your Bank Of America Break-Up On Video
By 10.25.11
With reigning Worst Company In America runner-up Bank of America preparing to roll out monthly fees for some customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, a number of people are thinking it’s prime time to end their relationship with BofA — and that’s a perfect moment to capture on video. [More]
Survey: 30% Of Consumers Would Leave Bank Over Debit Card Fees
By 10.19.11
With financial institutions like SunTrust and Bank of America implementing fees for using debit cards to make purchases — and a number of other banks doing regional tests on similar fees — a new survey says that nearly one out of three American consumers would leave their bank if it introduced such a fee. [More]
Consumers Union Urges Bank Of America CEO To Drop Debit Card Fee
By 10.18.11
Two weeks after asking regulators to investigate Bank of America’s plan to charge some customers a $5 fee to make purchases with their debit cards, our cousins at Consumers Union have taken their case directly to the bank’s CEO. [More]
Non-Credit Union Alternatives To Banks With Monthly Debit Card Fees
By 10.12.11
While often the default response online to people looking for something other than a big retail bank to stash their cash is to shout, “Credit union! Credit union!”, they’re not the only game in town. [More]
Bank Of America CEO Defends $5 Fee Hike: We Have "Right To Make A Profit"
By 10.6.11
Bank of America has taken a lot of flack over the bank’s decision to levy a $5 monthly fee on debit card holders. Now the CEO is firing right back. [More]
Consumers Union Calls For Investigation Into Bank Of America Debit Card Fee
By 10.4.11
It’s not just Senator Dick Durbin and scissor-happy Fox Business Network anchors who disapprove of Bank of America’s announcement that it will begin charging a $5 monthly fee to some customers who use their debit cards to make purchases. Our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union are now calling upon legislators and regulators to investigate this move by the nation’s largest bank. [More]
Fox Business Network Anchor Takes Scissors To Bank Of America Debit Card On Air
By 9.30.11
The backlash against Bank of America’s decision to charge a $5 monthly fee to some customers who use debit cards to make purchases continues, with Fox Business Network’s Gerri Willis taking a pair of scissors to her BofA debit card in the middle of an on-air report. [More]
