I bet most of you have heard by now that Bank of America is going to implement a $5 fee for debit cards. If not, read the whole article here.
“Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.”
I was actually about to switch to BofA since it’s at the end of my street, because my credit union is so far away (ok it’s really only 20 minutes, but it’s out of my way whenever I need to go). And now I’m glad I didn’t because if they implemented this, then the list can go on forever and forever of what other fees they might add.
Also, there was a study that found that “45 percent of checking accounts are now free with no strings attached, down from 65 percent last year and 76 percent in 2009.” I honestly had no clue that anyone even paid for checking accounts still! I never have paid.
“The study also found that the total average cost for using an ATM rose to $3.81, from $3.74, the year before. The average overdraft fee inched up to $30.83, from $30.47.”
My credit union charges to use other ATMs, and the charge is around $7, so I NEVER use an ATM, I never really need cash and when I do, I just go to Walgreens and buy a pack of gum or something that I need, and withdraw cash at the same time.
What do you think of this change? I heard that many more banks will probably follow due to the government limited the amount of money that banks can collect from retailers soon.
Would you change the way that you paid in order to get out of the $5 charge every time? I know I would.
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