Bank of America plans to charge $5 monthly fees to debit card users and, according to WSJ, other banks plan to follow this plan. Although, BOA is charging more than some other banks intend on charging. Let us keep in mind that BOA charges individuals who do not have an account with them to cash checks. I mean, banks make a substantial amount of money as is by holding customer's money and investing it. Do they really need to add more extra fees?
I suppose we could always write more checks and waste paper. This less environmentally friendly tactic will also cost BOA more money as well. Guess we could always just go to a teller each time we would like to purchase something so the bank will have to personally handle each account: when they count it to hand it to us and when they take our deposits. The bank lines will increase substantially as a result and BOA will have to have more tellers on hand, which will cost them more money.
With their continuously unstable stocks, are they truly trying to push customers to switch banks? I mean, I have been debating changing banks for months; this just gives me the extra push I needed.
According to the WSJ article posted this morning by Andrew R. Johnson entitled,Banks Plan New Fees for Using Debit Cards,"The fee will apply to standard checking accounts, but not most premium accounts held by affluent customers. Banks typically exempt their premium accounts from many fees because they tend to be more profitable than standard accounts with lower balances." Ultimately, BOA decides who IS and who IS not important. Those who have premium accounts, or more money in their accounts, will not have the fee. Another way of saying the rich will be exempt? Ha. Well, you have a choice what you want to do if you are a BOA user. You can pay the $5 monthly fee, write checks, use a teller and handle cash, or change banks. The decision is yours.
Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576600800330404330.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/29/8038360-bank-of-america-to-charge-5-monthly-fee-for-debit-card-purchases
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/bank-of-america-to-charge-5-month-for-debit-cards-20110929-apx
By: Jenna
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