NEW YORK (6/1/09)--While credit card rates are under scrutiny
in Washington, banks are already looking for other ways to
boost their fee income. They are raising fees on checking accounts.
Credit unions might want to monitor this development and market
more aggressively their own low rates on checking accounts.
Banks are making it easier for consumers to spend more than
they have in their checking accounts, and when consumers do,
the banks hit them with steeper punitive fees, according to USA
TODAY (May 28).
Also rising: ATM fees, minimum balance requirements for interest
checking accounts, and monthly service fees. These fees hit
record highs during 2008, according to Bankrate.com.
Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com, expects these
fees to increase even more in 2009.
Several banks have already announced their fee hikes:
- Bank of America will raise its monthly fee on some checking
accounts and start charging a fee on accounts that remain
overdrawn. The reason for the fees: the bank's costs are
up and consumers are riskier today. Beginning this month,
BofA will raise its monthly account-maintenance fees on its
MyAccess checking to $8.95--a $3 increase. It will begin
charging a one-time $35 fee if an account remains overdrawn
for five business days. The bank has also increased the number
of times customers can be hit with overdraft fees per day
to 10, or double that of last year.
- Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) doubled its fee for transferring
funds to cover an overdrawn checking account to $10. It will
charge the fee to a credit card rather than taking it from
a linked bank account, which means the consumer could pay
interest on the fees. A Wachovia spokesman said the fees
were increased to make fees the same across multiple accounts.
- SunTrust began charging last month a higher fee on basic
checking if a customer overdraws multiple times, similar
to what banks have done with late fees on credit card accounts.
It also raised its overdraft fee on other bank accounts.
Even though it charges higher overdraft fees on premier accounts,
SunTrust automatically waives one to three overdraft charges
a year on the accounts.
- Citigroup is charging 3% of the transaction for certain
debit purchases and ATM withdrawals made outside the U.S.
Last year it charged 2%. Its fund transfers to cover overdrafts
are being rounded to the nearest $100 to buffer additional
transactions. It also is deducting a $10 transfer fee from
checking instead of savings accounts. It also increased its
overdraft fee to $34 per incident from $30 in May 2009. It
considers the fee in line with industry standards.
Consumer advocacy groups are already monitoring the fees,
saying that the banks are perpetrating the downward debt spiral
for vulnerable consumers.
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NEW YORK (6/3/09)--Women are more likely to be a victim of
identity theft--and lose more money--than men, according to
national survey results released by Norwalk, Conn.-based Affinion
Security Center (eMarketer.com May 19). The good news
is that women are more likely to change behavior after the
experience.
Twenty-eight percent of women surveyed had their identity stolen,
compared with 21% of men. And 17% of women surveyed lost $1,000
or more that they never recovered, compared with only 10% of
men reporting losses that high. Survey respondents were asked
if they changed behavior to protect themselves. Responses revealed
that women are more likely to take aggressive action--such
as subscribing to a credit-monitoring service, traveling with
limited personal information and shredding documents before
disposing of them--to avoid becoming a victim twice.
An identity fraud survey report released in February by Javelin
Strategy & Research revealed that fraud attacks involving
women occurred most often in person, such as in restaurants
and stores, rather than online. Lin Standke, Credit Union National
Association's manager of youth programs and a victim of identify
fraud, offers these suggestions for protection:
- Zip it up. The No. 1 method for stealing your
personal information is through lost or stolen wallets, so
keep your plastic safe. Use a purse with a zipper rather
than an open bag. Don't hang your purse on the back of a
chair at a restaurant. Instead, keep it between your feet
or on your lap.
- Be consistent. Keep your plastic in the same place
and put it back there every time you use it. That way you'll
notice immediately if a card is missing. Better yet, carry
only the card you plan to use and your driver's license.
- Keep it in sight. Ask to see a manager if a store
employee steps into a back room to swipe your credit card
when there is a machine at the cash register. This is not
a typical procedure (except in restaurants), and the clerk
may be copying your information.
- Take online precautions. Keep your virus protection
programs up to date, install a firewall, and don't click
on links within e-mail messages.
- Check account activity frequently—online. Most
credit and debit cards have online access so you can review
your purchases. If you find a charge you didn't make, report
it immediately.
- Lock it up. Keep personal information such as
account numbers, passwords, and Social Security numbers in
a safe, locked place at home.
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- $5.00 Opening Balance
- No monthly fees
- $100.00 to earn dividends
BB & T (Virginia)
0.35%
APR (Adjustable; Available Exclusively
Online- eSavings Account)
SunTrust
0.05% APR ($100 req’d to open; 2 wdrwls/ mth for
free; $4 ea after two)
Wachovia
0.05% APR (bal $0-24,999; $300 req’d to avoid mthly
fee of $5)
0.10% APR (bal $25,000-49,999)
Bank of America
0.10% APR ($25 to open; $300 to avoid mthly fee of $3,
$3 per w/d over 3 per mth if bal is >$2500)
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Attention RFCU members: We have been made aware debit cardholders
(of other financial institutions) in Pennsylvania are receiving
phone calls from an automated voice service stating there is
an issue with their debit card and asking the cardholder to provide
personal information over the phone. At
this time, calls are only occurring in PA, but we would
like all of our members to know in case the fraudsters expand
to other states. Please note: this is a Phishing Scam and should
you receive any such call, do not provide the service with
any personal information, disconnect the call, and contact
the credit union at (804) 281-6341. Remember, RESOURCES Federal
Credit Union will NEVER ask members to provide personal information
over the phone in this manner.
For tips on how to recognize a Phishing Scam, visit our Documents
page where you will find a link to an article we published
on Scams & Spams. Additional information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/phishing/identify.mspx.
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