Friday, November 4, 2011

Bank Transfer Day


Tomorrow, November 5th, 2011, has been unofficially designated as 'Bank Transfer Day', which is 'a consumer activism initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions and community banks by November 5, 2011'.




It's been adopted and supported by the 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters, but it predates them, and is not officially connected to them. The campaign's Facebook page states:

While the Bank Transfer Day movement acknowledges the enthusiasm from Occupy Wall Street, the Bank Transfer Day movement was neither inspired by, derived from nor organized by the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the Bank Transfer Day movement does not endorse any activities conducted by Occupy Wall Street.


The founder of Bank Transfer Day describes the reason for the campaign as follows:

The Durbin Amendment is an add-on to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law No. 111-203), signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. The Act allows the Federal Reserve to regulate debit card interchange fees of banks with over $10 billion in assets. Over the summer, the Fed released the final rule on the matter by limiting debit card interchange fees to a maximum of 21¢ per transaction.

In response, these corporate-level banks have decided that beginning early 2012 any consumer with less than $20,000 in combined accounts will be charged a monthly $3-5 fee if they use their debit card at any point during the month. This new fee clearly targets the impoverished & working class. After endless research, the organizer concluded that her money would be put to better use on the local level through not-for-profit credit unions.


The organizer, Kristen Christian has said, "I started this because I felt like many of you do. I was tired-- tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up. I've been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me. With each person who RSVPs to this event, my heart swells. Me closing my account all on my lonesome wouldn't have made a difference to these fat cats. But each of YOU standing up with me... they can't drown out the noise we'll make."



Even though the major banks have just announced that they're abandoning their plans to charge customers additional fees for debit card use and/or transactions, this doesn't mean they won't replace those 'in-your-face' charges with other, less obvious ones that will still rake in undue profits for them at our expense. As Comrade Misfit notes:

I say: Keep closing those accounts regardless.

The reason I say that is because those banksters are just going to try with other fees. They'll charge you for receiving a statement by mail. They'll charge you for using a live teller. They'll charge you for moving money from your savings account to your checking account. They'll charge you for doing a transaction online.

They'll figure out other ways to separate you from your money.

So keep closing those accounts. Don't use their ATMs. They're feeling some pain, now. Keep inflicting it.

. . .

They set up this recession. They pumped up the housing market by offering sub-prime and similar loans. It was the banksters that opted to offer "liar loans" and "nina loans". It was the big banksters that bundled the loans into toxic securities and sold them, which removed those rotten loans from their local portfolios. It was the banksters, the really crooked ones, who offered those securities and then sold them short. And now the banksters keep trying to cover up their misdeeds with robo-signed mortgages and other fraudulent documents.


There's more at the link. I agree with her. The banksters deserve to get hurt.

The groundswell of people moving their accounts appears to have already begun, according to the Associated Press and CNN. I hope tomorrow brings an avalanche of new business to local banks and credit unions, and a real headache to the banksters. I have no time for them at all.

(Disclaimer: I've banked with credit unions in two states for almost a decade, after getting more than a little fed up with mainstream banking services. I've had uniformly excellent, friendly, customer-oriented service from the credit unions, and I couldn't be happier as their customer.)

Peter

9 comments:

Keads said...

I do not have a frame of reference for any of this. I have exclusively used what was known as Western Electric Credit Union" for over 25 years. I also have accounts with what was once known as "RJR Tobacco Credit Union" as well. Both are known by other names now, but I have found them to be excellent financial institutions. Even if there are no physical branches nearby.

tweell said...

From my military days I have kept USAA as my main monetary transaction agent as well as for car and home insurance. For savings and local stuff, there's a credit union within walking distance that I am a member of. Come to think of it, I did business with BofA only because they bought my house mortgage and my savings & loan company. Thank heaven I don't have to deal with them any more!

Joe in PNG said...

And here is another instance where capitalsim wins- when the giant monster mega banks try to screw you, you can take your money elsewhere... and often get rewarded for doing so.

Carteach said...

I have been a CFU member (NOT customer.. MEMBER) for almost half my life. They are good folks.

A few years back, I tried a 'regular' bank account with an outfit that was up and coming, and seemed friendly. It lasted a month. The first statement was so confusing it could only have been designed that way on purpose. Even their own branch president could not decipher it, and it didn't agree with their own systems numbers anyway. I forced the man to admit right on the branch floor... their statement process was either incompetent or fraudulent, and their was no other explanation.


I suspect that will be my last exploration of using a commercial bank.

perlhaqr said...

I realise I'm in a distinct minority, but I've been remarkably happy with my time at Bank of America as a customer.

I also have a military associated Credit Union account that I've had since I was about 3 months old. They have also been mostly pretty good, but BoA has way more ATMs and branches around, (meaning I get dinged with fees for using "out of system" ATMs a lot less frequently) and their online system is vastly more sophisticated than the local credit union as well.

Anonymous said...

As a coincidence, we changed my adult daughter's savings and checking institution from BoA to Navy Federal Credit Union, of which I've been a member for over 50 years. Instead BoA's fees of $12-15 monthly fees, she now gets free transactions at any CUA member and earns interest--however meager--on both her savings and checking accounts. BoA can go down in flames for all their bad transactions and practices.

Leatherneck

Anonymous said...

I gave up on big banks about a decade ago when a local Wells Fargo branch ticked me off. I currently keep my funds in USAA's bank and a local, family-owned outfit that just celebrated a century of solvency. The combination seems to work very well wherever I've been located.

LittleRed1

trailbee said...

We were only members of the mate's employer's CU, banking with Wells Fargo for 35 years. After the bailout we tried to get a HELO, with our good credit rating, which they denied us, because they were not making loans. I try not to nag in this partnership, but finally wore the mate down, and we moved ALL to his CU. Should have done it eons ago. We are so happy we made the move.

Anonymous said...

So when all our money are in CU's then where do we go when the gumment comes for that money to fund their stash?
And do not even believe that the gummint would not steal all the money from the CUs.
Heltau