Several years ago, a friend of mine had her satellite radio stolen from her car as it sat in her driveway. She promptly called and reported it stolen, requesting that service to the radio be cancelled immediately. Instead – despite multiple calls, complaints and tears – the company charged her monthly for a radio that she no longer even owned for the next three … [Read more...]
The switch is on – switching banks is becoming a lot easier
For several years now, I’ve been preaching about how banks and credit unions need to get their customers to use online bill pay and direct deposit. The reason is simple: the more bills a person or business pays online, the less likely they are to switch to another financial institution. Once a person inputs all of their vendors and monthly bills, they won’t want to go … [Read more...]
Community Banks and Credit Unions Catch a Break with Bank Fees
It’s been all over the news for weeks and people everywhere are getting fired-up about it. Even President Obama recently aired his complaints to ABC News, saying it was unfair to customers. We’re talking about bank fees. So what’s up with these bank fees and why are banks charging them to customers? It’s simple economics, really. Banks profit by loaning consumers and … [Read more...]
Wells Fargo, SunTrust and Regions Bank Introduce New Fees
Brace yourself: here come the fees. Last week, we talked about how the country’s banking environment is evolving in light of recent regulatory changes and their negative revenue impact on banks. Recent federal regulations have capped overdraft fees, certain levies on credit cards, and even what banks are allowed to charge merchants when customers use their debit … [Read more...]