It’s hard to tell which is piling up faster — the fees bank customers have to pay these days or the research showing just …
checking accounts
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 …
Big Banks Are Finally Making It Easier to Compare Checking Account Fees
The median length of checking account disclosures is a mind-numbing 69 pages. But a growing number of banks are now cutting through the clutter and offering shorter, simpler breakdowns of major fees and terms. It’s a big help …
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.
Bank of America Closed a Bunch of ATMs This Year
Almost exactly two years after Bank of America rolled out its “eBanking” checking account that costs nearly $9 a month if the customer wants service from actual human tellers, the bank’s recent quarterly report shows that …
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 …
It’s No Coincidence That Changing Banks Is a Huge Pain in the Butt
Planning to switch banks? Hope you have a bottle of aspirin handy because, odds are, the bank is going to do everything it can to keep you around, and that adds up to a major migraine for you. A new report documents all the roadblocks banks throw up to keep their customers from leaving, from charging you money to generating as much …
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 …
Ticked Off at Your Bank? Finally, a Sympathetic Ear
As of March 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has opened a complaints department to collect all sorts of consumer gripes about their deposit accounts — checking, savings, CDs and what the agency terms “related services.”
More Fees, Fewer Branches As Banks Cope With Lower Profits
Several big banks have reported their earnings over the past week, and the results aren’t pretty: JP Morgan Chase & Co. had a 23% drop in profits, Citigroup’s fell 11% and regional bank PNC Financial Services Group suffered a 40% …
5 Banking New Year’s Resolutions
This year was a tumultuous one for banking: Occupy Wall Street protests around the country focused Americans’ anger against the financial industry, while widespread outrage over banks’ attempts to charge fees for debit card use …
