It’s understandable that many consumers were shocked and outraged to learn that the credit card info of tens of millions of …
credit unions
ATMs with a Human Touch: How New ATMs May Replace Bank Tellers
ATMs are getting a new face — literally, a human face. Some bank customers are already encountering what might be called ATM cyborgs, in which a machine includes a screen showing a bank teller’s head. The teller, in a remote …
Gambling for Good? 8 Ways Lotteries Could (in Theory) Make the World a Better Place
Few people would make the case that we should encourage gambling. But what if gambling could be used as a ploy to improve road safety, recycling, school attendance, the financial well-being of citizens, and society as a whole?
Should Cities Have to Patronize Small, Local Banks?
Many Americans expressed their dissatisfaction with escalating bank fees by eschewing megabanks in favor of smaller institutions or credit unions. Should cities do the same thing? Last week, the city council in Berkeley, Calif., …
Bank Fee Bust: Turns Out Credit Unions Didn’t Cash In After All
When consumers threw a collective fit over fees charged by big banks for debit card use, credit unions were thought to be poised for a windfall. Customers were expected to defect in droves — and the initial data seemed to bear out this hunch: The Credit Union National Association announced in early November that 650,000 consumers had …
Occupy San Francisco Starts Its Own Credit Union
Occupy protesters as financiers? It’s strange but true: Some Occupy San Francisco members announced plans to create the People’s Reserve Credit Union. Are the occupiers ready to be bankers?
Fighting Fees: 3 Ways to Negotiate With Your (Big) Bank
Bank fees are an annoyance, but is there an alternative besides either paying up or pulling up stakes and leaving? Maybe. If you want to keep your bank for other reasons — say, convenience — but the fees are pushing you out the …
Bank Transfer Day: The Tally Is In
Americans fed up with their banks voted with their wallets last Saturday, and we finally have some numbers to go along with the anecdotal reports of people ditching their old bank for a better alternative. Credit unions around the country acquired 40,000 new members, and roughly 80 percent of credit unions added members, according to the …
650,000 Americans Switched to Credit Unions Last Month
According to a survey conducted by the trade association that represents credit unions, fed-up customers of big banks aren’t waiting until this Saturday’s “Bank Transfer Day” to cash out and take their banking business somewhere else.
Still Reason to Drop Big Banks, Even After They Drop Debit Card Fees
Weeks after stirring up consumer outrage with a proposed $5 monthly fee for debit card usage, Bank of America is now following its big bank colleagues by abandoning plans for the fee. Throughout the debit card fee saga, smaller …
Three Alternatives to Paying Big Bank Fees
No one likes to pay for something they’re accustomed to getting for free. So, quite predictably, Bank of America customers are angry that using a debit card will soon cost them $5 a month. While consumers are outraged with the …