$3 monthly debit card fee? Goodbye Wells Fargo!

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sleep

Senior member
Aug 23, 2010
582
0
0
i have a wells fargo too, but never received a letter yet about that. if i do i will have to close my account too. besides they limited my drawing cause of back fees a long time ago.

i would go with chase too but sadly they don't have a chase here.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
0
That was one of the reasons I dumped WF. I had a checking account with them for ~5 years prior while they were still Wachovia, but as soon as they changed over I got hit with fees on both my checking and savings accounts.

I joined a small, local bank that has everything I need and more and I've been happy ever since.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
My credit union gives me 0.3% interest on checking, free wire transfers, free checks, free money orders, free travelers checks, free Visa gift cards, remote deposit, free overdraft transfers from savings, free notary and Medallion signature guarantee, free stop payments, reimburses all ATM fees no limit, AND I can use any credit union in the Credit Union Service Center network to make deposits/withdrawals. Like having a bank branch just about anywhere I go. It costs nothing and I don't have to make any minimum amount of debit purchases (in fact, I don't even have a debit card).

I looked at 10 banks in town from giant to small and none of them can match that.

Not a brag, just saying that credit unions are getting more and more competitive with any bank offering these days.

what credit union is this? cuz that sure as fuck aint any credit union available around here.
 

TwiceOver

Lifer
Dec 20, 2002
13,544
44
91
As long as it is still free with direct deposit, but I'll be damned to pay for a service I never use. NEVER use the debit "feature" of your WF visa check card. I dont' know why anyone would ever do that.

I really like WF's web options, bill pay, instant transfers. I've never had a problem with them and they don't currently charge me any fees. I'm not rich so I don't know why other people in this thread were ever charged fees.
 
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darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
This has nothing to do with Wells Fargo specifically. It's been brought on by a new piece of legislation known as the Durbin Act which is limiting the amount of money a bank can earn on interchange fees for debit card transactions, interchange fees being the money a retailer pays to the bank for processing a debit card transaction. The average prior to the Durbin act was about 44c per transaction, with the bill now creating a ceiling at 21c per transaction; effectively halving this ~15B annual revenue stream.

Note that this cap only is in place for "big" banks, those that have over 10B in assets, hence why not all banks will be affected but you will see almost all national/regional banks at least consider implementing fees such as this. In spite of this, smaller banks generally lobbied against the Durbin Act.
 

drebo

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
7,034
1
81
My Shitibank checking accounts have no fees if I maintain a $1500 or greater balance between all of my accounts. That's not that hard to do. Although I know that they did just recently remove the "no fees if you have direct deposit or do online billpay" feature, and I know that drove some people away.

If they start to get too grabby with fees, I'll have no problem leaving them for someone else...although I don't really want to close the credit card I have with them as it's my oldest active card.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
I called and spoke with a CSR, Susanne.

She told me that this is a $3 per month fee, and that ALL banks that do business in these states will be collecting it - not just WF.

She also said that it applies to every non-business account.. Doesn't matter if it's "free" checking or not.


Then she tried to get me to get a quote on my car insurance... Uhm no thanks.
 

alfa147x

Lifer
Jul 14, 2005
29,303
103
106
I called and spoke with a CSR, Susanne.

She told me that this is a $3 per month fee, and that ALL banks that do business in these states will be collecting it - not just WF.

She also said that it applies to every non-business account.. Doesn't matter if it's "free" checking or not.


Then she tried to get me to get a quote on my car insurance... Uhm no thanks.

Which states exactly?
 

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
I called and spoke with a CSR, Susanne.

She told me that this is a $3 per month fee, and that ALL banks that do business in these states will be collecting it - not just WF.

She also said that it applies to every non-business account.. Doesn't matter if it's "free" checking or not.

Many of the big banks will start doing trial runs at least. JPM is already running a trial with a monthly $3.50 debit card fee in part of Wisconsin; but I do think she was incorrect in saying that all banks doing business in those states will be collecting fees.

Where the fee trials are run and what accounts they apply to specifically will be determined on a bank by bank basis.

One article I read indicated that only debit cards that are used will be subject to the fee, however that article also said that both business and personal accounts would fall under the WFC fee in those states. I don't have an account with them though, so I dunno what the actual terms of it are.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
Have a free checking account with debit and credit card and my credit union.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
If I remember correctly, my credit union will charge me if I don't have a direct deposit setup. I don't remember if that was only if I have a debit card or just the account in general, but I've had a direct deposit setup the whole time, so it's not a problem.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
$3 monthly debit card fee? Goodbye Wells Fargo!

Ive owned 3 checking accounts concurrently over the last decade:

The first was work related that I have had since 1991 and I closed it in 2009 because I didnt use it much.

The second one I had with Wells Fargo that I opened in 2004 when I was a Gold Powerseller on Ebay. I kept cash there for buying & selling. I even won a free $2,000 laptop from them in 2006 that I still use today. I was happy as a clam with Wells.

The third was with Chase opened in 2009 to get a $150 opening bonus. I had intended to close this account in six months but thankfully never did.

So -

Last week Wells Fargo said they are going to start charging $7 a month and in certain states (not mine) they are also charging $3 a month to use a debit card. So they want $120 a year to do business with them? :\

As I result Im closing my Wells account today and all I will have is a grandfathered free* checking account at Chase. :'(

*=$6 fee waived if 5 debit card purchases are made from the account each month.

It's not just Wells Fargo.

All of the "Too big to Fail" banks will be doing this.

We need a President that will let their asses FAIL

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wells-Fargo-to-test-3-debit-apf-1350611214.html

Wells Fargo isn't the first major bank to test whether customers will be willing to pay to use their debit cards. Chase last year also began charging a $3 monthly debit card fee in northern Wisconsin.
 

RadiclDreamer

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
8,622
40
91
Disclosure - I am a banker...

All banks have different types of checking accounts, and each of those different accounts have different fees or requirements. If you talk to a banker about it, they will likely recommend that you change your account to another type that may be a better fit for you.

If you bring more of your business to any bank, and upgrade to a higher level account, you will likely not have to deal with these type of issues. Times are changing, and banks' profits have been slashed greatly, so look for ALL major banks to be implementing changes, and they will ALL have some sort of requirements to be met in order to have those service fees waived.

The bottom line is that checking accounts have not always been free; it is a relatively recent development. If you want to keep your business spread between several banks, that is your decision and nobody will argue with you, but you'll probably find that banks will be more lenient with you if you qualify for and maintain a higher level account by consolidating your finances with one institution.

Then I will stop using them, very simple. I use a debit card because its convenient, but not that convenient that I'm willing to pay for it
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Disclosure - I am a banker...

If you want to keep your business spread between several banks, that is your decision and nobody will argue with you, but you'll probably find that banks will be more lenient with you if you qualify for and maintain a higher level account by consolidating your finances with one institution.

Having all eggs in one basket has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen posted.

Good thing you prefaced with "Disclosure - I am a banker...".
 

flvinny521

Member
Jul 29, 2011
111
0
0
Then I will stop using them, very simple. I use a debit card because its convenient, but not that convenient that I'm willing to pay for it

That is fine, you have every right to decide who gets your business. Just don't be surprised when, for the reasons outlined in prior posts, your new bank begins to adapt some of the same policies. Times are chagning and banking as you have come to know it over the past decade is going to end.

However, if you work with a competent banker, they will be able to find the type of account that is most beneficial to you. Just try to consider that there may be a benefit to consolidating your finances with a single bank, because by doing so and augmenting your business relationship with them, they will reward you by fee waivers, free services, discounts and other perks.
 

flvinny521

Member
Jul 29, 2011
111
0
0
Having all eggs in one basket has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen posted.

Good thing you prefaced with "Disclosure - I am a banker...".

Care to share your reasoning with me on that? I am not talking about investing all your money in a single company's stock. THAT would be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,889
6,259
136
Care to share your reasoning with me on that? I am not talking about investing all your money in a single company's stock. THAT would be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
Dave slipped over from P&N. Enough said.


Kidding Dave.
 

Regs

Lifer
Aug 9, 2002
16,665
21
81
We gave out bad loans, so please accept these service fees. Thank you.
 

dud

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,635
73
91
Another good reason to join your friendly neighborhood Credit Union!
 

GoodRevrnd

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
6,801
581
126
lol USAA.

I need a B&M bank so I can deposit the occasional large check and quickly transfer funds to USAA, and that's its only purpose. I've held on to my BoA for a long time but now monthly fees are up to a ridiculous $13. On top of that they reduced my $5000 limit CC that I never used to $200 a while back. Any suggestions?
 
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