Bank of America Wants You

But only if you are rich enough and a big spender.

Last year I posted about switching to a local bank because of BofA ATM fees.  Boy am I glad I did!

Now it seems Bank of America Corp is planning to introduce a monthly fee for its customers holding checking accounts unless they agree to bank online, buy more products or maintain certain balances.
Bank of America pilot programs in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts now are experimenting with charging $6 to $9 a month for an “Essentials” account, the paper said.

The options being tested include monthly charges of $9, $12, $15 and $25 but give customers opportunities to avoid the payments by maintaining minimum balances, using a credit card or taking a mortgage with the bank, the Journal said, citing a memo distributed to employees.

Ever since the new banking, credit card and investment regulations were enacted, banks have been looking for new ways to make up for the lost revenue.  Unfortunately hitting customers up with more and more fees is not the most popular method.

Has BofA not learned anything about customer loyalty and fees?  I guess if you are rich enough and spend enough, you don’t care about little things like fees.

So, Are you rich enough for Bank of America?

The Real Reason Bank of America Changed Its Mind About ATM Fees

Ever since Bank of America announced it was going to charge $5 for ATM usage and other banks were considering a similar plan, there has been a lot public outcry and publicity.

There were OWS protesters who were arrested trying to close out their bank accounts.  There were online petitions posted and signed by hundreds and thousands of people.   Headlines were made in every major publication and TV news show across the nation.

But the real reason why they changed their mind is this:

650,000 People Joined Credit Unions In Just The Last Month!

And that does not count people like myself who joined a good local bank that also had absolutely NO FEES!

That is a lot of Lost Customers

Lost Money

and Lost Revenue

Tuppence

Give Me Your Tuppence

Here is a clip from the 1964 film Mary Poppins which I will simply title Tuppence.

I was going to add this to my last post about how not to teach your children to save, but decided to save it for today!

Regardless, it is strangely appropriate for Fun Strip Friday, my post, and events of today.  Nearly 50 years later!

Enjoy.

Beating those Bank Fees

If you are like me, you have either been hit with recent increases in banking fees, or received notice that you soon will be.

 

In my case, I am one of those lucky folks to have a Bank of America account.

 

Not only is Bank of America increasing the fees for debit cards and checking accounts, but they also have an “online fee” for using financial software such as Quicken or a financial site such as Mint.com.

 

Of course much of the reasoning for the increase in fees and such is a “credited” to the Credit Card and Dodd-Frank Act.  This act does cut the rates that banks can charge merchants for credit card transactions.  The theory is that merchants will pass the savings along to consumers and is part of the current administrations financial reform policies.  However, it also allows for the raising of rates for debit cards and other account services.

 

If you look around, you can still find banking institutions that have little or no fees at all.  One reason is pure and simple competition; other banks want your business.  But another, more important reason is that the Credit Card and Dodd-Frank Act primarily applies to large banking institutions with capital assets of more than $10 Billion.

 

This is where smaller regional banks and credit unions come into play.  And this is where I found a great local bank that is well run (no bail-out money), good history of controlled growth and excellent customer service and has no fees for any of their primary accounts.

 

So now I have started my own little form of protest, consider it my version of Occupy Wall Street, by opening an account with a local Bank, and starting the transition away from the Wall Street friendly Bank of America to the more people oriented and fee free institution of The Fauquier Bank (pronounced just like it is spelled “fawkeer”).  😉