Bank of America To Charge $5 Monthly Fee For Debit Card Usage

I always use Cash except for online stuff. I really probably shouldn't, because you have to take out a minimum of €20 from an ATM and I often am bad at minding the change/getting it back in the bank.....A lot of places don't take cards here though. :/ Probably explains why I was so bad with money in the last year, really....

Hotels would definitely take cash though. Some probably wouldn't even take Cards....well, B and Bs, not hotels.

edited 30th Sep '11 6:24:14 PM by occono

Maybe everyone should switch to using Credit Unions or customer-owned banks like the USAA. They never fuck over their customers like this.

Cash can be stolen and that's that, debit cards can be cancelled after they're taken. Carrying around tons of cash in your wallet is honestly a bigger risk than having a debit card.

Ha ha, look what happens when you announce a dickish policy.

Also contained within that article is an explanation of why they added these charges now- they used to charge the retailers for debit card usage, but the retailer charge was limited to 21 cents, down from an average of 44 cents.

edited 30th Sep '11 6:25:35 PM by deathjavu

if your smart you don't carry a shit load of money. just enogh for what you want/need, plus some for emergencys.

And with the money you save from not having credit card bills, you can invest in karate lesson/ a gun. then you don't need to worry about getting robbed.

If you're smart and don't carry a lot of money, but still have actual bills (like $70 grocery bills), you're probably running out of money all the time, and visiting the ATM daily.

I can't access the article—will I be charged just for having my debit card during a month in which I don't actually use it?

Only if you purchase something with it.

You aren't charged for withdrawing and depositing.

screw the ATM, you go to the bank once in a while and keep what you'll need for the month at home in a safe place. like in a safe .

Even though I have the awesomeness that is USAA, I still prefer cash.

@OP: Yeah, that article makes me sick. Hey, Bof A...that's my money you're choosing to gouge. I didn't borrow it from you, and I don't need any special help to spend it. You're trying to re-capitalize in the wake of lawsuits you richly deserved to receive, and you are officially doing it badly.

When I borrow money, you can charge me interest; that's the way of things, I'll accept it. But when you start larding on a fee for merely accessing funds I've earned by the sweat of my brow, I'm going to call shenanigans. And reach for a bat.

Getting a Louisville Slugger to the face is less than you deserve for this outrage.

^ Drunk leave your rage at the door. This isn't going to go through ultimately. Between being a bad business decision, this is also going to attract the wrong kind of political attention for them.

In short, there's no way they can win this controversy.

Right on!

Unless everyone else does it too.

Not if it catches the bad kind of political attention. It's election season, Congressmen (and Obama) are more listening to controversies in the media to score political favor and thus more likely to propose legislation ending such shit.

Really, this is a lose-lose proposition for BofA.

Like I said, their stocks took a hit right after this announcement.

On the other hand, only one bank has ruled out having these charges in the future, and a lot of smaller banks already had them.

Sun Trust is also doing this.

It basically comes down to how much real competition there is between the banks. I heart Capital One isn't doing this, but how many people can really pull all their cash from BOA and Suntrust to go to a Capitol One?

I'm not suggesting there's any collusion here, but it's certainly a case of imperfect competition.

i heard that it's supposed to be a "Fairer" way for them to earn money instead of insane overdraft fees and such. all i can say it that it makes everyone pay instead of just punishing people who don't try to track there spending.

Totally saw this coming.

Bad business decision was bad.

Why am I not surprised by this?

Now if only other places would scrap theirs. Far as I know Usbank still has a new fee for Debit use./

/gently caresses USAA card.

Anyone who gives the bank their money should realise it is no longer their money the second they hand it over, and the small print in the T&Cs that come with every product confirms that. I am so fucking sick of people whinging and moaning about the banks doing things they are allowed to do in mutually agreed contracts! It's your own damn fault if you don't read the fine print, and you can vote with your feet if you don't like what's in it.

That said, this was a thoroughly horrendous business decision by BOA, and its scrapping was the right alternative to losing a shedload of customers very quickly.

The thing is, a lot of people gave their money to banks under previous policies, and banks dont exactly advertise when they make decisions that screw people out of money until after the first bill.

Good news, they've killed it! Article here.

"Listening carefully" my ass. People were shouting that shit down.