Arent all Bank Debit cards also Credit cards now a days? I know mine is, and I never once use it as a debit....I always select credit. No difference, and avoids this bogus fee.
I know for my bank (suntrust) it doesnt matter, if it's used as a point of sale purchase its $5.00 fee a month (not per transaction) and its per account, not account holder, so if you have a joint account the charge isnt 10, its still 5. Not really that bad for the convience debit cards provide.
Ties right into the "BOA is in big trouble" thread in POFO from earlier this week. They need the revenue. If they have 10 million people with debit cards, that's $600 million a year in new revenue.
this is reality now. but i think its better if the bank squeezes people up front and honestly in extracting cash than the way they behaved previously
My selling point to clients with a objection to the $5.00 fee. "You lose your wallet with $800.00 in it, and you lose your money. You lose your wallet with a debit card in it, you call our free 24 hour call center, get the card closed immediately, and all you lose is a piece of plastic, we get you a new one in 1 day, and you keep your money. Great connivence for as much as a latte at starbucks" Works every time.
This is a little off topic but the charge that really chafes my a$$ is when you take a check that someone has written to you, to their bank to cash it and the bank wants to charge me for not also having an acct with them. Just once I would like a bank to need me to do something for their benefit so I can turn around and tell them " I'm sorry but I charge a fee for that particular courtesy, it's my policy"
Good point. But I still don't believe you should be charged for having a savings account. Kinda defeats the purpose.
How is it good to have a bank squeeze you up front? Why make the change to a service that has been free for years because as a bank you made risky choices and now they are haunting you? What about that is right? "we as a bank can't get anymore free taxpayer money, so let's strong arm people for a service we already offer!"
Okay, a bank offers to hold your money for you....makes money off of your money, then wants to turn around and charge you for using your own money. Riddle me this BoA...just what would you do if every account holder came down to your insitution and closed their accounts? How would you stay in business then? This is why I'm so glad I discovered credit unions over 20 years ago!
What you are also forgetting is the bank makes money off of every transaction you do with that card. on a debit transaction, they make about .35 cents. a credit transaction is based off the amount of the sale with a portion going to visa, mastercard etc and a portion going to the bank. usually its 2-3 %. i always use mine as debit to save the merchant money.
im not saying its great, just better. i would rather have a bank charge $5 a month for debit usage to make money than make underhanded loans to sell them off to fannie mae. ill take the first option. its at least transparent. banks have to make money somehow. they are rightfully being more tightly regulated, so they have to find alternatives. i doubt many people will change banks. it is a huge inconvenience, esp. if you conduct many transactions online with all your info nicely saved for auto bill pays, amazon, ebay, pay pal, etc
Ill probably just switch to using my credit card unless they start to charge for that too. But there are always alternatives to use, and I already clear them out every month. So yeah.
Let me count the ways: 1. Interest charged on loans 2. Money you deposit 3. Fees for services and certain accounts 4. Taxpayer bailouts, ect I really dont see how other than BoA making bad/bad investments and business decisions with all revenue they already collect in various ways that now they need to shake down their customers some more. Sure its only $5 but it does add up over time. BoA has THE worst reputation in the banking industry. I know alot of people who've been screwed by them.
They give you options. You can use it at the ATM only, or not at all, and you don't get a fee. They are charging a small fee to provide a service now. Prices go up sometimes. If you want the convienece of the debit card, you pay as much as a bottle of water at a marlins game. It's not that bad.
i agree. if its really a problem, then people can switch. i said its very inconvenient, but im also lazy with things like that. i mean, i dont even think BOA should even exist at this point. i dont think any bank should be that big. but that my opinion. this is at least a case where the market can sort it out. people will either leave or they will make enough money off it. i think its more interesting to see if this becomes more prevalent.
Sure, prices sometimes go up. In this case, a price is being contrived and applied to something that was previously free. Again, having to pay to access my own money is ridiculous. And make no mistake, that's what this is. The alternative is to actually walk into a BoA location and make withdrawals every time I need money. The irony of that is, if more people did that, BoA would then complain that customers were making things difficult for bank staff and forcing them to hold more money on hand.
USAA....the best bank in America.... You can thank Dick Durbin for all these wonderful fees banks are now charging...
I understand, the question was rhetorical. My point was, if they aren't lending money out, then they aren't making money. The fact is, there isn't anywhere to put excess liquidity right now thats very profitable.
In the banking bill that just passed congress reduced the amount credit card companies could charge merchants. To make up the lost revenue they won't get from merchants they pass the cost back on the consumer, and begin to charge you to use your debit card. So in the end, merchants make more money, banks make the same amount or a bit less, and the consumers loss free checking forever. Thank You Government. End Rant.