Chase and BofA Help With Lower Overdraft Fees
Yes, you read that right. Banks actually lowered fees. Voluntarily.
Well, more or less voluntarily. It seems that during the ongoing meltdown in the financial industry, some big commercial banks were looking around for ways to increase revenue and many of them started raising the fees they charge customers for services. Among those fees that took a step up were overdraft fees, which, given the number of laid-off people in the U.S., were getting a real workout as people struggled to balance check books on unemployment insurance payouts.
But the banks were taking a lot of heat for boosting their bottom lines at the expense of already strapped customers. One could argue that rather than have Congress step in and set limits on fees, they were better off lowering fees themselves.
According to an article in MarketWatch.com, "Chase, the retail banking unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., ... said it was overhauling its overdraft policies 'to make them clearer and simpler and to give customers more control over their debit cards and the fees they pay.'"
According to the article, "overdraft fees on debit cards have come under fire recently on reports the banking industry is pocketing billions of dollars a year" on these fees.
"We recognize the tremendous growth in our customers' debit-card usage and we're revamping our overdraft policies and posting order to be more consistent with the way they use their accounts today," according to Charlie Scharf, head of retail financial services at J.P. Morgan Chase, in a company news release.
Similarly, Bank of America Corp. took the axe to some of its fees, in an effort, so the bank claims, to "help customers avoid excessive overdraft fess and better manage their finances."
Gee, that was awfully nice of them.
In the fourth quarter of 2009, the bank said, it will only charge fees when an individual's account is overdrawn by more than $10 for more than one day.
"Our immediate priority is those customers who excessively overdraw their accounts," said Susan Faulkner, customer segments and deposits executive at BofA. "With these changes, we have increased customer choice in the area of overdrafts, limited daily overdraft fees, and significantly reduced fees for those customers who need help the most."
Photo courtesy of The Truth About..., via Flickr
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