Bank Transfer Day

[pack34]

The growing anger directed at U.S. banks (especially the big ones that took federal bailout funds) over recent fee increases coalesced this past weekend into a Facebook-driven campaign urging Americans to close their accounts at large banks and move their money to credit unions by Nov. 5.

Source:

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/10/10/bank-transfer-day-urges-americans-to-leave-big-banks/?hpt=hp_t2

I like it. I've personally never trusted big banks with my money.

[Seizure1990]

I've personally never trusted big banks with my money.

People say this a lot, and I've never figured it out. I keep my money in the bank and I honestly don't expect it to magically disappear. What is their not to trust?

[BoredBozirini]

People say this a lot, and I've never figured it out. I keep my money in the bank and I honestly don't expect it to magically disappear. What is their not to trust?

Not all at once obviously, but charges of $5 for using a debit card will slowly drain your bank account. I would guess its people talking about that.

[jnelsoninjax]

I use a credit union, and have never had any problems with it. Now when I was using banks in the past I had all sort of issues (odd fees, mysterious charges, etc) so this does not come as a surprise that so many people are leaving the banks for the credit unions.

[Open Minded]

Credit Unions. There, you are the shareholder. They pay YOU after operating costs, expenses etc. This is a totally different gig than BofA (unless you hold stock) because the fees you pay go to someone else.

There's also the ethical side to this whole mess. There have been reports of "big banks" foreclosing on people that have paid their mortgage on time. I read this one report (I'll see if I can find the link) about BofA foreclosing on an elderly woman because she was one day late on her payment. The reason why she was late- she was in the hospital. She had never before been late on any mortgage payment. BofA thought it best to kick her out of her home. It's reports and stories such as this that drive the distrust for big banks.

[soniqstylz]

http://www.clarkhowa...upport-b/nDQCt/

So often you hear me complain about the giant monster mega-banks and why they're responsible for so much of the unemployment we have right now. Well, I've got to give you some numbers that will stun you.

Did you know that unemployment was at 4% before the foolishness of the banks brought world markets to their knees? Today we sit with millions of people unemployed. Thanks to the banks' careless disregard for the right way to do business, we have been through a brutal recession.

These banks are responsible for the instability now of the European economy and worries about our own economy and the government's ability to fund things.

Yet after the failure of banks and the taxpayer rescue of those deemed "Too Big To Fail," we are still as much at risk of financial problems as we were before. We should have blown the big banks to smithereens. No bank should be large enough to threaten the financial sovereignty of a nation.

Listen to these numbers that the Federal Reserve was forced to release kicking and screaming: The Fed issued $1.2 trillion in emergency money to prop up banks both domestic and international. (That's on top of the hundreds of billions issued by the U.S. Treasury to prop up giant banks.)

• Citibank alone took in just a hair under $100 billion from the Federal Reserve.
  
• Bank of America got $92 billion from the Fed, on top of $138 billion from the U.S. Treasury. We're talking almost a quarter trillion all told just for the still-troubled bank that may now require yet another bailout.
  
• Morgan Stanley, the big brokerage house, got $107 billion.
  
• Internationally, the Royal Bank of Scotland got $85 billion and UBS got $77 billion. The list goes on and on. One German outfit borrowed an average of $21 million for each of its 1,366 employees, according to Bloomberg.
  

The amount of money handed out by the Fed was three times the size of the U.S. federal budget deficit of 2008. To put it another way, the money is so large that you could take 539 Olympic swimming pools and fill them top to bottom with $1 bills before you run out of space.

These reckless giant monster mega-banks played in the casino knowing that they always had the house's money -- your money and my money -- to back them up. That is unacceptable. The idea of "Too Big To Fail" is unacceptable. We as a country need to overcome the dirty money that all the banks have given to your Congressman and your two senators to buy them off to keep the big banks operating.

There's no reason that Bank of America should have 10% of all the banking action in the United States. I'm sick and tired of these careless companies coming to the trough of the taxpayer again and again.

If you know somebody unemployed or you are unemployed, know that it's not all the banks' fault. There are lots of other factors in play too. But the greatest catalyst for the trouble of the last four years can be laid at the feet of the giant monster mega-banks. Their lack of ethics and honesty and their carelessness has led us here.

When are we going to get people in Washington who do what's right for America, instead of what's right for the money that goes in their pockets?

[ATLien_0]

Currently I have an account with one of the larger banks which will be charging a 3 dollar fee for debit cards, my other account is with a more local bank, no fees at all. Im tempted to switch to the local one permanently but the only downside is finding a bank in other states.

how do credit unions work? I have heard much about them over the past week

[Open Minded]

Soniqstylz, thanks for posting that info. It's the truth.

[Rigby]

Currently I have an account with one of the larger banks which will be charging a 3 dollar fee for debit cards, my other account is with a more local bank, no fees at all. Im tempted to switch to the local one permanently but the only downside is finding a bank in other states.

how do credit unions work? I have heard much about them over the past week

Unlike a bank a credit union is owned by its account holders instead of a bunch of greedy corporate fatcats. So if you enroll in a credit union you become a shareholder. Since there are no outsiders demanding more and more profits its members usually get cheaper services and better rates. Also only members can use them so you get more personalized service. Instead of the FDIC your money is insured by the National Credit Union Administration, in addition they may also carry private insurance. That's not to say they are always better; banks usually offer more products and services such as online banking.

[Dinggus]

I use USAA, no debit card fee's.

[Allan]

American Banks that DID NOT AND DO NOT require bailouts of any kinds:

TD Bank. RBC. BMO Harris. Scotiabank. Put your money in a Canadian owned American bank, and it'll be safe.

[perochan]

so they will charge me monthly for debit card OR charge me EACH TIME i have a transaction from my debit card?

[+LogicalApex MVC]

so they will charge me monthly for debit card OR charge me EACH TIME i have a transaction from my debit card?

Currently, they are going to charge one monthly fee for any month where a debit card transaction occurs. That doesn't mean they won't change this next month though...

People say this a lot, and I've never figured it out. I keep my money in the bank and I honestly don't expect it to magically disappear. What is their not to trust?

If you're losing money via constant fees then your money isn't safe. Since you placed the money there to grow, not to shrink (you don't intend to pay the bank to hold your money as you could easily do that yourself).

[Rigby]

I've never seen a bank that charges fees for a debit card. People need to just tell BoA to get stuffed and find another bank.

[AJerman]

I use ING Direct and am very happy with them. I'd suggest them or a credit union. I used BoA for a short period of time and they tried to screw me over, so I immediately closed the account and would highly suggest no one use them. They tried to charge me overdraft charges on transactions while my account was still positive, which in turn caused me to overdraft, and in the end I ended up with them trying to charge me about 5 overdraft fees. With ING they have a $165 overdraft loan, and if you do overdraft, you just pay a (very small) amount of interest for the period of time that you were overdrafted. It usually ends up being something like $0.20. Don't put up with BoA and other banks bull****.

[Seizure1990]

I can see the problem then, I guess. Thanks for clarifying. However, I'd just like to say that I have an account with Chase, and my money stays exactly as it is, unless I directly withdraw (or deposit). I have withdrawal fees for non-Chase ATMs, but that's a given. Otherwise, they take no money from me. I'd be pretty ****ed if they did.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

I've never seen a bank that charges fees for a debit card. People need to just tell BoA to get stuffed and find another bank.

This is a new class of fees that will start becoming normal...

[pack34]

This is a new class of fees that will start becoming normal...

The only way to stop it would be to make the new fees unprofitable by switching banks.

[Allan]

Fees for using your debit card are common in Canada. If I use my Scotia card at RBC, I get dinged anywhere from $1.50 to $3. Sometimes, it's JUST my bank, sometimes it's BOTH bangs that 'ding' you. If you use a 3rd party ATM (i.e. not a bank ATM) you can be charged $2/transaction on TOP of your banks fees.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Fees for using your debit card are common in Canada. If I use my Scotia card at RBC, I get dinged anywhere from $1.50 to $3. Sometimes, it's JUST my bank, sometimes it's BOTH bangs that 'ding' you. If you use a 3rd party ATM (i.e. not a bank ATM) you can be charged $2/transaction on TOP of your banks fees.

Not the same fee. The US also has ATM usage fees that can be levied by your bank or the bank/owner of the ATM or both. The new fees are directly tied to using your debit card at places other than an ATM. So, buying that cup of Joe at Starbucks (or Tim Hortons for you) would throw you into the $5 fee camp (for Bank of America, the fee may vary for other banks).

That is a whole different class of fees that has people upset because both this used to be free and they don't see the need for the bank to levy the fee (the bank profits off the retailer when you use the card to pay). In essence the bank is double dipping (they want to charge on both legs of the transaction) and people aren't happy with that notion.

Currently, Credit Unions don't charge this fee and it may be a major competitive advantage for them to keep it that way. I am a Credit Union member and have been for a number of years after getting fed up with the massive amount of crap that you get from the banks fee wise. I haven't been upset by my Credit Union and I have no desire to return to a bank for my savings needs.

I'm fine with banks only for my credit cards where they seem to offer better terms and features compared to my Credit Union. This may be the trend that many consumers take.

[RangerLG]

I use a state bank for my everyday banking. No fees currently and a decent interest rate on my checking account. If they want to continue having me as a customer, they will not start. Also have accounts with ING. They have been very good to me as well.

[Lexcyn]

I would never pay a fee to use a debit card. I am with ING Direct and pretty much everything is no-fee, which is the way it should be. They are making so much money as it is they are just super greedy.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

Not all at once obviously, but charges of $5 for using a debit card will slowly drain your bank account.

$5 for using your debit card?

That IS a rip off! In the UK, I use my debit card like cash.

[Rohdekill]

American Banks that DID NOT AND DO NOT require bailouts of any kinds:

TD Bank. RBC. BMO Harris. Scotiabank. Put your money in a Canadian owned American bank, and it'll be safe.

Ever walk into a Harris bank without an account there? I did as there's one in our office complex. I asked them to change a $5 bill so I could use the vending machine around the corner. They wanted to charge me a service fee. Needless to say, I laughed and walked out. 6 months later, they were closed.

[PsyOpWarlord]

I use USAA, no debit card fee's.

I use USAA also and they are great.[/left]