Banking Fees
You may have a free checking account with your bank but it doesn’t mean that you are free from awful fees. “Free” may be the most appealing word in the word but there might be fees behind your free checking, savings or ATM that you have to worry about. Whether they are for ATM use, negative balances or bounced checks, you have to know what these hefty fees are so you could monitor you finances a little more responsibly.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, banking institutions earned an estimated US$ 80 billion just on banking fees in 2006. That’s 56 percent of total bank income. Flashback to ten years ago, fees only accounted for 3 percent of bank income. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone because everyone is aware of transaction fees. Aside from that, banks also make money from people who mismanage their credit cards and checking accounts. Remember that you keep your money in a bank for yourself and not for the bank. Don’t let them eat up your money just because you have no idea of the fees you are being charged for. Here are some of the banking fees you need to watch out for.
Courtesy Overdraft Fees
Many people consider courtesy overdraft fee the sneakiest of all fees. These bounce protection fees kicks in when the bank provides funds when your check would have bounced. It works like an ordinary overdraft fee but a little nastier. Depending on your bank, your standing as a client and your account type, you can pay anywhere from 20 to 40 bucks per check. And as if it’s not enough, you will also have to pay an additional $2 to $5 per day until you have paid back the bank. If you don’t want to avoid these fees, set up automatic transfers to your checking account from your savings account. There will still be a fee but not as much.
POS Fees
You may not have realized it but you may be paying for POS or Point-of-Sale fees. Some banks charge this fee to process PIN transactions going through a different network instead of being processed as a credit. For example, Wells Fargo charges $1 (flat rate) for each month you purchase something using your PIN. US Bancorp charges its customers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Colorado 25 cents per PIN transaction. If you want to avoid these fees, get a pen and sign for purchases instead.
Expedited Bill Pay Fees
Here’s another proof that time is gold. Some banks charge an additional $5 to $15 for paying your bills just before your cutoff or due date if you make a transaction at the last minute. In 2006 alone, banks earned $1.6 billion just from expedited bill pay. To avoid this fee, set up a payment processing account online.
ATM Fees
You should know that each time you use another bank’s ATM to withdraw, you are being charged a fee. Aside from the amount that your bank deducts from your account as payment, the “other bank” charges an additional surcharge. ATM fees have been rising consistently. An average bank charges 25% higher than it did six years ago.
Returned Deposit and Stop Payment Fees
Stopping payment on a check can also cost you big time. Apart from the fact that you didn’t really pay anything because the check did not turn out to be good, you also have to pay $25. That’s the typical charge for stop payment nowadays. Moreover, returned deposit fees of anywhere from $5 to $10 have been instituted in addition to a pile of bounced check fees that you might face.
Cash Advance Fees
Getting cash from a credit card has always been expensive but the past years have witnessed how it rose from expensive to very, very expensive. Ten years ago, credit card companies charged their customers anywhere from 2 to 10 percent on cash advances. Today, minimum fees range from 3 to 5 percent. Most banks also do not set a maximum limit.
Aside from these fees, you should also be aware of the other fees that your bank may be charging you. These may include balance transfer fees, foreign exchange fees and paper fees.
on 2009-12-08 at 13:56:57
why do banks make it easy to steal someones debit card and use it without a pin number all you have to do is press credit and no pin is required.just sign anything and be on your way,i know because arvest allowed this to happen to my sons lost card and he had to pay seven 17.00 dollar feeson 2009-08-07 at 14:24:30
I belonged to a credit union for over 20 years with a checking I did not use and a savings acct, two autos financed personal loan financed and a 20+ year visa that started at $500.00 that is now a visa platinum for $10,500.00. well 60 days of using this checking acct I realized what a mistake I had made, They charged me fee after fee. I had money in the acct but was charged a Fee I didn't know what it was for, then a $1,580.00 deposit followed by another fee ($22.00) I am disabiled, bi-polar and these people made me postal, I sent outraged letters demanding why. the answers made no since to me, they were just typing in -$22.00 when they felt like it. i Printed out that page, the next day the fee before the deposit, days before had another fee next to it, Ihave it on paper, I had printed it out the day before and printed that one out as well. I had been sent a email from the supervisor threatening to close my checking account if I continued sending nasty messages. because I am bi polar I took a step back and did a check on myself and thought maybe it is me, so I actually sent an apology that went unanswered but I receieved a letter dated the 29th the day after the boss came back stating my credit card that never had a late payment of over 20 years had been closed due to my current credit score, I never gave them permission to check my credit score??? I called FTC was told to call the credit reporting agency they listed and so I did, They said the account was in good standing and mentioned I didn't even have one late payment on it. I said well its closed to me when I log n and Its no longer usable because I had tried. They asked for copys of the letters and if I wanted the fee's. What can be done about this? people can just key in -22.00 any time without question, close a credit card that never had a late payment that I had for over 20 years... what is the legalitys of these actions? I feel someone needs to go to jail and am outraged. I have filed 2 complaints one with the california attorney general, where they are located and another with the federal trade commision. I just sent a letter to another goverment office that I found but i have yet to recieve an answer as to what can I do, is this illegal, if it is how illegal, felony illegal? they do not realize or have a clue that I had been printing out my statements due to another online problem not them, but it ended up giving me them, showing how they would just make inserts. I believe karma to be oh so true, or the lord above. Somebody made sure I had all of it in black and white. please if anyone knows how illegal, is there an attorney who could help me, i am broke and only found out that fee's were established before they had computers doing all the work, to pay them for the extra time it took for ins funds and such, now it takes -$22.00 3 seconds to type that in and the computer is doing the rest. sooooooo if there is attorney who can help me pro-bono, I do not know how to say that word but an attorney who feels just about doing the right thing and actually cares about how people are treated, i would love to hear from you. I am in louisville, ky 40219 right by the racetrack for the derby... I would love an email telling me the legalitys of this if there is any and what from low to high could be done to them. thank you for listening and please send an email with information and guide me to anyone who could possibly help me. thanks again for your time, Jackie Con 2008-10-14 at 01:27:33
Michelle, I'm pretty sure you can ask your bank for a proper accounting of your fees. It probably depends on the bank if they're gonna provide detailed statements of accounts. Don't be afraid to go to your bank to ask questions. It's within your right as a consumer to do so.on 2008-09-18 at 01:49:01
can i ask my bank for the acounting of these fees? i am sort of upset that they have these hidden fees i am not even aware about! are these usually in my statement of accounts?