Here we go, round two on Debit cards. Never let an unintended consequence go to waste!
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to investigate whether Bank of America and other major banks improperly worked together to charge customers new monthly fees for using their debit cards.
The Feds reduced the fees charged to businesses from 40 cents to 20 cents or something. So the banks want to charge $5/month to the card holders now. Awhile back there were reward checking accounts to encourage debit card transactions. Now they are discouraged.
I like the idea of charging the card holder for the convenience better. Let the businesses off the hook on the 40 cent fee.
I started using cash again anyway for security reasons and got rid of it. Bye bye debit card. I predict they will go away. Then we can wait in line again for the dufus writing a $3 check for 5 minutes. LOL
So which is better, charge the business or card holder? Or should it just be free and a right! LOL
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
People who get pissed of at any company that charges too much for a service are free to take their business elsewhere. I don't understand the outrage here.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Joe wrote: Thats what I do Bill. Apparently most don't, and like the Gov't to hold their hand.
I don't think you're very far off but in some ways, the public has gotten pretty damn stupid. The financial crisis was a combination of bad government policies, Wall Street taking advantage of bad policies, and stupid people who haven't learned to live within their means.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
I am betting those businesses passed on the fees in higher prices to both their cash and debit customers. The nice thing now is that the customer can choose to skip the fee by carrying cash.
You have to figure muggers are going to be happier, more cash in wallets.
The wife and I have been trying to use debit and credit cards less because it seems like fraud and hacking have increased. The mugger can only get what you have on your person, the hacker can clean out your account.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
The reason they are investigating the banks is because they coordinated the fees.
It is entirely legal for banks to coordinate their lobbying and political activity, as they did to combat swipe fee reform. As part of that lobbying fight, banks regularly warned that if the fee they were allowed to charge merchants for accepting customers' debit cards was reduced, the banks would raise debit card fees in other ways. That, too, is well within banks' lobbying rights. But coordinating the fee hikes themselves could earn them a seat under a DOJ lamp.
Soulshiner wrote: The {official} reason they are investigating the banks is because they coordinated the fees.
You are pretty sure it has nothing to do with partisan populist politics and the current wall street protests? Sometimes you have to connect the dots and think a little.
The timing may also have to do with the timing of the new law, and it sounds like this has been well publicized for awhile.
I think the whole debit card idea is bad, wasteful on small purchases, and not secure enough against hackers. Let the market work it out for whatever the fair price is. I bet they disappear and credit cards take over.
SS109 wrote: ... The mugger can only get what you have on your person, the hacker can clean out your account.
Thats exactly right. You can lower the daily limit, but there is still too much risk. With a credit card you have more time to straighten it out and dispute the charges before paying.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
Well, many places won't accept checks any more. When I first moved out here, I was amazed at how many businesses accepted checks (me coming from the mid-Atlantic states), without having to show ID. Now they barely accept checks. Plus, crooks can figure out pretty much anything about you when they have your check. Lots of info on it.
Banks are ruthless. And I don't want to hear about they are businesses. They have lobbied to change the industry, did so, and we went into the "great repression," that we are supposedly out of but going into another one, to hear the "experts." I maintain we never got out of it.
I use cash for the most part and a debit card for big purchase items, such as an airline ticket, since I don't feel like going to the airport to buy my ticket. I try to use it as a credit card rather than debit, but I realize that's no safeguard.
Now it looks like some banks are changing their mind. Look for other checking acct. fees to sneak in though!
Chase and Wells Fargo are joining the list of banks that won’t be charging customers to use their debit cards, as the backlash over Bank of America’s planned $5 monthly fee continues.
