Posted on 10/28/2011 5:00:02 PM PDT by throwback
A month after Bank of America got pummeled by consumers and politicians for introducing plans for new debit-card fees, most other big U.S. banks are steering clear of imposing similar charges.
Following eight months of consumer testing, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has decided that it won't charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans. The New York bank's Chase retail unit is one of the largest U.S. consumer banks, with 26.5 million checking accounts and 5,300 branches.
J.P. Morgan joins U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., KeyCorp and other large banks that have said in recent days that they won't impose monthly fees on debit cards. None of those banks said they made their decisions because of the outcry over Bank of America's fees.
"We looked at all options and quickly decided it didn't fit with our overall strategy," said David Bowen, who runs the consumer-product business at Cleveland-based Key, which ranks among the 20 largest banks in the country.
Banks are loading fees onto customer accounts in an attempt to recover billions of dollars in revenue that will be lost from new restrictions on debit cards, credit cards and overdrafts. Most big banks have already eliminated free checking for customers who don't meet certain criteria on their accounts, such as minimum balances or a certain number of direct deposit transactions.
Bank of America Corp. has begun laying plans to charge millions of customers $5 a month if they use their debit cards to make purchases. The bank is still working out details of its plans, which likely won't affect all customers, according to a person familiar with the situation. SunTrust Banks Inc., Atlanta, is also tacking a $5 monthly fee...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I believe a majority of Republicans voted for it as well.
Have him check his reports at www.annualcreditreport.com. Rates get jacked to 29% for a missed payment, etc. There is likely to be some sort of blemish on his credit reports. The reports are free.
Now, I'm tangled-up in slow-reading for the weekend.
Thanks for the stimulus.
Actually he keeps a check on his report and nothing bad turned up.
You'd have to ask them then, if you don't accept that.You say that they, at most make $20 per month off my transactions and it costs more than that to keep me as a customer. That $20 per month translates to $240 per year for decades.
If it were me, I would call the CC Co. and ask WTF. Something isn’t right..
Not my claim, its simple math.
I didn't say you made a "claim".
I showed you the "math" of how they have made thousand$ off my purchases over the past several decades, without me ever paying interest. You are determined to keep this going as shown by your replies that are argumentative in nature, when no one is arguing with you.
My simple statement is, that I have been a Visa customer since 1969 and I haven't paid any interest in probably the past 30 years or so.
I will say this, you may have the last word because people like you find it impossible to do otherwise. I'd bet the ranch on that and you may bet the ranch that I won't read it anyway, argue with yourself to your heart's content.
I’m not arguing with you. I’m simply saying the bank is not making any money off of people like you.
I’m disappointed that you have turned insulting when there was no intent on my part. Too bad, I’ve enjoyed our conversations in the past. Now you’re just another ass on FR.
Banks make so much money on transactions, they even came out with new “incentive” programs a few years ago, targeted at purchasers.
Already charging vendors 3-5% for each credit card transaction, they then began incentives to increase credit card purchases, offering government agencies a 1-1.5 % kickback for making purchases via credit cards (P-Cards), as opposed to the normal standard of net 30 payment terms.
No, I don't think banks make most of their money on “interest rates”.
They make steady money on the volume of transactions between their “customers”, both the buyers and sellers of tangible products.
There is even a built in legal clause banks have engineered against merchants who already pay bank fees to process credit/debit cards.
No discounts can be offered for cash transactions.No premiums or handling charges can be made for credit/debit card transactions.
Banks, Insurance Agencies, Unions...are all related in the sense that they introduced a short term artificial financial benefit, that eventually became a long term burden to all commerce, and now pervades society.
I would guess your definition of “interest” and mine are not the same.
If banks were making most of their money on interest they wouldn’t be sending me who pays no interest ever, new credit card offers (2-3 this week). Banks make money on the transaction fees and on the float - money they keep even for a day or two that they owe the merchants.
Do the math, even the 3% of $2000 is only $60 a month. But they don’t get the 3% because part of that goes to the card company (visa or mastercard) and part goes to the processor. It varies depending on the bank, merchant and processor but the banks generally get around 1%.
While they make a little off float, they also have to pay for the money you are using. There is a cost to the bank for the money you charge. In essence you are using the float instead of the bank.
On these types of transactions they make very little. In the past they’ve been focused on quantity of customers and not quality. With the reduced margins being forced by the govt they are going to start getting rid of the unprofitable customers.
So no, I’m not wrong. I am curious as to why you people are getting so incensed over a crappy socialist bank like BOA.
I will be switching my account to a credit union, and I am encouraging my “finance department” to explore other opportunities for our business accounts.
BTW-there is no “float” for my own transactions, and the vast majority of business transactions, except the “float” that the bank gets to play with.
NO, I am not a financial expert. But it's not difficult to follow the money, if you pay attention.
As yours truly had perdicted!
Bank of America just started charging $5 for a lost debit card.
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