Bank fees are never fun to deal with, but it is ingrained in banking as it is a huge source of instant cash for financial institutions and credit unions. The fees that come from the banking industry give banks a huge pay day. This is where lots of cash comes to the bank. It is slowly becoming more and more complicated to deal with all the new charge card laws making bank costs go up. An individual needs to look out for some things.
Financial institution costs charging more
New federal regulations have been issued just lately. These regulate how much an individual is charged for services and also the way the person is charged. The major banks are all raising fees, according to CNN. The new laws governing banking and charge cards in the CARD Act place limits on things like over-limit costs. Banks have to find some way for making up for the lost cash. The only way to do this is for making up new fees or raise existing fees. For instance, Bank of The United States is raising the minimum account balance. If a consumer dips below the minimum balance, the financial institution assesses a monthly fee for doing so.
Dealing with over-limit
Before, banking institutions were allowed to give over-limit costs without customer consent. Protection programs can be very costly. For instance, some banks allow account linking and transfers as overdraft protection. Money can be transferred from savings automatically to checking. This is if the cash is going over. Each and every bank has its own amount it charges for this. Wells Fargo, for instance, charges $10 for this. As a cash advance, that’s not too bad. Other financial institutions charge for having a checking account. Citibank, for example, charges $30 a month for the account. A cash advance can be needed by a customer for not spending any cash at all.
Character of the beast
Banks assess fees for certain things, like going into overdraft. Sticking to the straight and narrow will pay back. The further a person stays from these fees, the less can be paid to the bank.
Citations
CNN Money
money.cnn.com/2010/09/24/pf/new_bank_fees/
