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Nice timing, Bank of America. As if we're not struggling enough in this economy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Get ready for a new wave of bank fees. Bank of America will begin charging a $5 monthly fee at the beginning of next year for customers who make debit card purchases.
Whether you use your card for one purchase a month or 20, you will pay $5 per month starting in 2012. It doesn't matter if you select "debit" or "credit" at the point of sale
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/29/pf/bank_of_america_debit_fee/index.htm
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I know! But then we shouldn't be surprised. We knew long ago when the credit card fee losses started biting they would come up with some other way to rip us off. Lo and behold, here it is. Of course, they'll say they have their shareholders interests at heart to justify it.
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Barely 72 hours later, it seems that Bank of America’s decision to charge customers $5 a month to use their debit cards is rapidly becoming a New Coke-level blunder. Consumers have taken to the blogosphere in droves to vent their displeasure, and the bank’s already-battered stock dropped by more than 3.5 percent on Friday.
Oh, I'm sure their shareholder must be thrilled about how they are looking after their best interests LOL. Serves them right for being greedy.
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/10/03/bank-of-america-backlash-consumers-react-to-debit-card-fee/
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I like the Warren Buffett quote there. People were already fed up with bank charges generally and it doesn't take much to motivate them into action when there's plenty of choice.
“There are 7,000 banks in the United States, and if somebody else offers a better deal, people can go to that,” Buffett said today on CNN. “It’s just like you can change channels on television.”
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And it doesn't take much to motivate them when they are extremely angry either, Jewel! With all the Wall St protests going on right now, people are already angry over how big business behaves. They picked a terrible time to attempt such a controversial move, never mind what a bad idea it is.
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It's ridiculous! I'm sure the other banks are following developments of this story very, very carefully. If Bank of America gets away with it without too much fallout, expect them to follow suit in a month or two.
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See, what Bank of America's not thinking about either is the long term losses. Most people that have their checking account with a bank will go to their own bank first when they need another financial product, like a mortgage or savings account. They like dealing with the same staff and company. So they aren't only losing what the existing customers that switch have with them, but any future products they may have bought.
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Unintended consequences of the poorly conceived Dodd-Frank bill that passed last year. Banks still have to make a profit. Ask any stockholder.
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micharch, can you explain please what that Dodd-Frank bill did? I don't know anything about that.
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Apparently they are ready to change their stance, according to this news article today. I hope the idiot who came up with that got fired. Goodness knows how many customers have already left or are in the process of doing so.
Bank of America is considering softening its controversial policy of charging some customers for making purchases with their debit cards, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans.
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BofA's not the only one running scared now.
A month after Bank of America announced plans for a widely derided $5 monthly fee for debit card use, BofA, Wells Fargo and Chase are all backing off their plans to charge for debit card use. It’s a rare about-face prompted by a groundswell of consumer anger. Will it placate furious customers, or is the response too little, too late?
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/10/29/banks-back-off-unpopular-debit-card-fees/
Time shared an article on "the big banks that aren't adding debit card fees*" the day before, which might or might not be helpful.
*What’s the asterisk for? Well, while several big banks say they won’t start charging monthly fees for debit cards a la Bank of America, in most cases they are adding other fees or changing account requirements to increase revenues anyway.
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/10/28/the-big-banks-that-arent-adding-debit-card-fees
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It was nuts of them to even try it in the first place. All they've gained from this little episode is bad publicity and customer ill will. I'm sure they'll come up with another way to rob us, but this one must have been suggested by the tea lady LOL.
This is such a shortsighted move by them. Do they really think customers aren't going to read them the riot act and vote with their feet? How dumb.
The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. - Mad Magazine.