WTF?!?! ummm dude, as long as you can access your cash any of those other problems are moot.
However, not being able to get cash can create a landslide.
And car/phone/internet/computer problems can all keep you from your cash, but still you don't see most people walking around with two of them just in case.
If you're seriously concerned that an institution you have money deposited in will fail or even just keep you from your money, what are you doing depositing there in the first place?
My pity here lies in those who haven't already had cause to switch their accounts from Wells Fargo already. Seriously, this bank is a sh!thole.
Research your local credit unions...unlike WF, Chase, and BofA, they can offer you free accounts, ream-free.
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.
Posted already...these are ghetto-solutions as well.
Get a real bank account and carry a real balance. LOOK! No fees!
At get this shit, I can access my money across the country and even the world.
FUCKING MAGNETS, HOW DO THEY WORK?!?
Posted already...these are ghetto-solutions as well.
Get a real bank account and carry a real balance. LOOK! No fees!
At get this shit, I can access my money across the country and even the world.
FUCKING MAGNETS, HOW DO THEY WORK?!?
Not sure what you are calling a "real balance", but if 40k doesn't get you out of fees, then I'm going somewhere else. They are tacking this on to everyone that uses a card linked to one of their accounts.
IMHO this is merely a fee that will get the riff raff out of their banks. Chase needs to do this to blow out all the old WAMU 'no balance' free checking people...I swear those dregs cost the bank thousands per year.
F that. Postal, here we come.I spent ~40 minutes in full rant mode when my local WF branch refused to cut me a certified check for my mortgage payoff, they wanted me to drive across town to go to the branch where I started my account, because "they know you" They cut my check finally, but I really hate to get that pissed off in public.
For me, the one that really did it was a month ago when a teller told me that they didn't issue certified checks or money orders at that particular branch...
The banks profits have been slashed... Really? Why do you always hear about all these big banks and their billions in profits? BS on this statement.
Free checking accounts are a new development? I am 56 years old and have never paid for a checking account. Again BS.
I've had free checking for over 20 years, the last nearly 15 years with the same bank.
Ugh you make me hate big banks even more, which I didn't really think was possible.
I spent ~40 minutes in full rant mode when my local WF branch refused to cut me a certified check for my mortgage payoff, they wanted me to drive across town to go to the branch where I started my account, because "they know you" They cut my check finally, but I really hate to get that pissed off in public.
I have my direct deposit set up to my brokerage's bank already, soon as my debit card for that account shows up, I'll be closing my WF account.
I'd decided to switch a few weeks ago, when I realized all of my positive interactions with WF were over the net, and my interactions with WF in person were nearly all nightmares.
For me, the one that really did it was a month ago when a teller told me that they didn't issue certified checks or money orders at that particular branch...
You aren't getting it...are you even an adult?
It's not the that bank is going to fail, it's that any single card can fail whether by physical issue or electronic ones.
Unless I am on a deserted island, having available cash can solve the rest of the issues.
You are playing a TERRIBLE devil's advocate. At least own a bank card first prior to trying to troll about them.
Point was yes available cash can solve those problems, but then what about the problems that can keep you from your cash? Aren't they just as grave? Car breaking down, phone or computer dying, internet going down, they can all prevent your access to those funds. Yet we don't find the need to keep backups of all those on hand and one of the reasons is that they're reliable enough. However, anecdotally, every one of those objects/services is less reliable than a debit card.
I've had the same debit card with the same bank for I think... 9 years now? Every transaction I've ever made with it worked. Domestic, international, day, night, electronic, PoS, ATM, everything. From my own experience, they're very reliable. Not to mention almost everyone has a back up in a credit card anyway; though many are bank CCs, true.
There's nothing wrong with keeping accounts at multiple institutions, but given the fuss so many are making over paying a dime a day for their debit card it's hard to see them being very receptive to joining a second institution. Every bank larger than 10B in assets is going to at least consider new fees or restrictions to offset the coming revenue loss, WF and JPM were just the first to test the waters.
So why don't credit unions charge fees like that?
I have my business account with one and I have to maintain a $50 balance to keep my account open, after that there's no fees for my checking account or for my debit card and they offer credit cards with 8% interest.
^ is correct. It's currently a test!!! Too see how many people LOVE paying the fee's. Hope they overturn it but I highly doubt it once they see the income coming in from the monthly fee.
Of course.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.
They have to make up for the lost revenue somehow. This is all a result of legislation aimed at keeping the big bad banks from praying on poor little consumer.
I spent ~40 minutes in full rant mode when my local WF branch refused to cut me a certified check for my mortgage payoff, they wanted me to drive across town to go to the branch where I started my account, because "they know you" They cut my check finally, but I really hate to get that pissed off in public.
They have to make up for the lost revenue somehow. This is all a result of legislation aimed at keeping the big bad banks from praying on poor little consumer.
Well guess what? You take away the banks money/income they WILL find another way to get it.
Disclosure: I'm a banker.
Recent regulatory changes have made banking customers less profitable. Costs of managing accounts haven't decreased, but overdraft fees and debit interchange fees were a significant part of bank revenue for retail clients. Add to this that banks are flush with cash and earning 0.25% on the margin (Fed excess reserves), less FDIC assessments, and you have a $1,000 account that earns the bank $1.50 a year.
These fees are basically the bank giving the customer a choice: become a profitable client, or leave. ANY business would manage its customers this way. It seems like seeking profits is honourable, unless you're a financial institution, and then evil. But consider: Would you work for free?
There's an argument that "banks make plenty of money." I hear this as, "your other clients are profitable, so they should subsidize me."
Disclosure: I'm a banker.
Recent regulatory changes have made banking customers less profitable. Costs of managing accounts haven't decreased, but overdraft fees and debit interchange fees were a significant part of bank revenue for retail clients. Add to this that banks are flush with cash and earning 0.25% on the margin (Fed excess reserves), less FDIC assessments, and you have a $1,000 account that earns the bank $1.50 a year.
These fees are basically the bank giving the customer a choice: become a profitable client, or leave. ANY business would manage its customers this way. It seems like seeking profits is honourable, unless you're a financial institution, and then evil. But consider: Would you work for free?
There's an argument that "banks make plenty of money." I hear this as, "your other clients are profitable, so they should subsidize me."
Disclosure: I'm a banker.
Recent regulatory changes have made banking customers less profitable. Costs of managing accounts haven't decreased, but overdraft fees and debit interchange fees were a significant part of bank revenue for retail clients. Add to this that banks are flush with cash and earning 0.25% on the margin (Fed excess reserves), less FDIC assessments, and you have a $1,000 account that earns the bank $1.50 a year.
These fees are basically the bank giving the customer a choice: become a profitable client, or leave. ANY business would manage its customers this way. It seems like seeking profits is honourable, unless you're a financial institution, and then evil. But consider: Would you work for free?
There's an argument that "banks make plenty of money." I hear this as, "your other clients are profitable, so they should subsidize me."