Blood Sucking of Consumers May (Finally) Be Coming to an End

The banking industry is sending out mixed signals at the moment.  Just last month, several large banks including Bank of America and Chase were trying to convince people to stay with overdraft “protection” ahead of the rule change that goes into affect this summer that will make it so consumers have to opt in rather than having to ask to opt out of these evil programs.

And yes, I do mean evil.  I think Bank of America’s move, yesterday, March 9, 2010, proves that they’re admitting that this program was evil as well: in the biggest single move since I started “Overdrawn!” almost four years ago, B of A said that it is ending overdraft fees on debit cards!

Now there are a gang of consumer advocates nationwide who are holding their breath to see what’s next on two big questions: First, how will the banks replace this income?  I’m hoping that they go back to the old method of charging everyone $5 or so to have a checking account - this is the most democratic way of assuring that everyone from low income consumers to wealthier folks all pay the same amount.

Second, will the other big banks follow suit?  I don’t see how other big players like Chase and Wells Fargo can ignore this, so it seems likely that checking accounts are in for some major re-working in the next few months.  Again, I just hope that paying for them ends up being more equitably distributed between all consumers, rather than having the bulk of them being paid for by lower-income account holders.