Debit cards were supposed to be toast. The industry started writing their obituary when financial reform targeted overdraft …
bank fees
You’ll Never Guess What Banks Have Started Charging For Now
Banks are charging record-high fees for existing services such as account maintenance and overdrafts. But banks are also getting creative, rolling out services — and fees — that never existed before. For instance, at one bank, if you’re sick of waiting on hold to talk to a customer service rep, you can pay a fee to cut the line.
The Rise of the Alterna-Banks: 4 Options Beyond Traditional Banking
Is it time to part ways your bank? There are more options than ever for people looking for a different kind of banking experience — many of them without the onerous fees and requirements of traditional bank accounts.
Big Bank Epiphany: Adding New Fees May Be Bad For Business
Could 2013 be when big bank customers finally get some relief from the onslaught of fees they’ve weathered in recent years?
America to Banks: We’re Just Not That Into You
The number of Americans who have cut the cord with mainstream banking has risen by 821,000 households in just two years, a newly released survey finds. One in 12 households or 8.3% are unbanked, while another roughly 20% are what researchers call “underbanked.” We’re ostensibly well into economic recovery, so why are more of us telling …
Seriously? Bank Fees Shoot Up Again
Call it account inflation: A new study shows that checking accounts have gotten even more expensive for customers in 2012, and the phrase “free checking” looks to be going the way of the manual typewriter and the cassette tape.
After the Occupation: We Hate Mega-Banks But Still Use Them
Anger against mega-banks brewed for most of last year, coming to a head with the Occupy Wall Street protests and fueled by banks’ unpopular (and short-lived) efforts to charge people for using their debit cards. People claimed …
Study: Banks Still Doing a Crummy Job Disclosing Fees Even as They Raise Them
In an extensive study last year, the Pew Charitable Trusts found out what many Americans who’ve been zapped by overdraft fees or frustrated trying to understand fine print already knew: Big banks make it difficult for their customers to figure out exactly when and how much they’ll be charged in fees.
Now, in a follow-up report that …
Big Banks Elbow In On Check Cashing, Payday Lending, and Other Fringe Financial Businesses
Conventional wisdom has been that low-income people are better served by mainstream financial institutions than by check cashing storefronts, payday lenders and other providers of fringe financial products. But now, that wisdom …
Prepaid Debit Cards: The Lesser of Two Evils?
“I’d take the $3.95 any day over the $35 overdrafting or for some other fees.”
This statement, from a focus group participant, neatly sums up America’s evolving attitude prepaid debit cards. We don’t like the fees, but we like banks even less — and trust providers of prepaid cards more than we trust mainstream banks, according to …
The CFPB Wants to Give You Better Overdraft Fee Protection
It’s hard to overstate how much bank customers hate overdraft fees, but we still shelled out nearly $30 billion on them last year. The Federal Reserve attempted to rein in the “gotcha” factor with new rules in 2010, but banks have exploited loopholes in them and increased the fees. Now, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is trying …
Hey, They Were Listening: Some Banks Reinstate Free Checking
Consumers love to gripe about the scarcity of free checking and ever-increasing bank fees. But something funny happened in the second half of 2011 that belies the narrative of being nickel-and-dimed by the big banks: The …
