Bank of America adds debit card fee

[caseagainstfaith]

New federal debit card rules won't kick in until Saturday. But Bank of America wasted no time in announcing a $5 monthly fee for debit card purchases to make up for the expected drop in revenue.
The Federal Reserve has determined that this is a "reasonable and proportional" amount, reflecting how much it actually costs banks to process a debit card transaction.

For its part, BofA has estimated that these new rules will cost it about $2 billion annually in lost revenue. Industrywide, these processing fees brought in $19 billion for banks in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks card payments.

So here comes a $5 fee to use your debit card, effective early next year, whether you make one purchase a month or 100.

Anne Pace, a BofA spokeswoman, told me the new regulations have changed "the economics of offering a debit card."

She said customers rely on such services as fraud and overdraft protection, and those services can't be offered for free. "That convenience comes at a cost," Pace said.

source - www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20110930,0,2342996.column?track=lat-pick

Well I wonder how long Bank of America will have customers? I'm glad I'm apart of a credit union not a bank, don't have to worry about this crap.

[VirtualStranger]

Considering the anti-corporate protests that are gaining media attention right now, I can't think of a worse possible time for them to do something like this.

[ironbite]

Its like they want to go out of business and take us down with them.

[Aqualung]

Well, this should end well. Credit Unions FTW!!

[DeadpanDoubter]

I can't wait to hear my roommate (the one who uses BoA, of course) rant about this! *glares at Wachovia/Wells Fargo* Don't get any ideas.

[Vypernight]

Yeah, I'm not too happy about it. Next time I go to the bank (which is rare), I have to see if my account will be affected. I've been with them for over 15 years, and I have a specific account that's supposed to Not charge me as long as I don't use the in-bank services. Now I'd be charged whether I'm in the bank or not?

[worlder]

Doh.

This makes me sad.

[jackmann]

Makes me grateful for my bank. Not only does it not charge fees like this, it actually refunds me ATM fees charged by other banks.

[ltfred]

As soon as the economy is back to full employment, every bank in the US should be broken up, nationalised, have it's management fully prosecuted and then recapitalised at half the size and far more heavily regulated.

[Meshakhad]

I think I'll be sticking with my credit union.

[caseagainstfaith]

Oct 1, 2011 16:11:18 GMT -5 DeadpanDoubter said:

I can't wait to hear my roommate (the one who uses BoA, of course) rant about this! *glares at Wachovia/Wells Fargo* Don't get any ideas.

Honestly DeadPan they are also considering it, if you google for it, they are testing a $3 dollar debit card fee, so 2 dollars less a month but still a fee, last time I saw the article they were field testing it in a small market somewhere in Wisconsin.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

At first I misread that as $5 per debit transaction, and damn near spit out my drink.

[worlder]

Though a dick move, it is pretty much a minor dick move.

[ironbite]

When every transaction will cost you an extra $5? Uh yeah...that's a major dick move.

Ironbite-and this will only impact the poor....like always.

[Vene]

Oct 1, 2011 19:04:15 GMT -5 ironbite said:

When every transaction will cost you an extra $5? Uh yeah...that's a major dick move.

Ironbite-and this will only impact the poor....like always.

No, not every transaction, an extra $5 per month.