Susan Tompor Detroit Free Press Published 10:01 p.m. UTC Aug 8, 2018 Would you want to pull out your debit card when you pick up lunch — or maybe even a prescription — and have it declined if you didn't have enough money in the account? After all, you would avoid being dinged by a $30 or $35 overdraft fee if the bank just said no dice right on the spot. Maybe you'd have enough cash in your pocket — or another piece of plastic, such as a credit card — to cover the purchase anyway. It's one strategy to take on those pesky overdraft fees. Complaints continue to mount over the strings of overdraft fees and the mysterious mind-numbing methods that banks use to process transactions and ultimately push some people into incurring even more fees. It's because of overdraft rules that can be all over the map at different financial institutions. Things are so bad that two Senate Democrats want to ban overdraft fees on debit card transactions and ATM … [Read more...] about Rising checking account overdraft fees: How to avoid getting punched
Open new checking account
Scam affects victim’s ability to open new bank account: Middleburg Heights Police Blotter
MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Fraud, Normandie Boulevard: A woman applied for a job earlier this month via an email. The responding businessman sent her a check for $3,885 via the U.S. Postal Service to book flights and hotels. She deposited the check into her bank on May 16. The bank found the check to be fraudulent and removed the money from her account. She later received a letter from her bank stating that the check was bad and that it planned to close her account. The bank did close it May 3. The victim, who realized the transaction was a scam, tried opening a new checking account with another bank, but was denied due to her involvement in the fraudulent check. She had to obtain a police report to have her name removed from the ban list and to open a new account. Theft, Engle Road: A patron at Pump It Up on May 20 placed her wallet inside the glovebox of her unlocked car. She had removed cash and a credit card from it prior to placing it there. She returned to her car about two … [Read more...] about Scam affects victim’s ability to open new bank account: Middleburg Heights Police Blotter
Where you can still find free checking accounts
Free checking accounts are getting harder to find at large brick-and-mortar banks. While they typically offer ways to avoid monthly maintenance fees, such as maintaining a minimum balance or direct deposit, these options aren't always easy for many. And even if you can avoid monthly fees, it may not last. That was the case for many customers of Bank of America (BAC). In January, eBanking checking accounts were converted to Core checking accounts. With eBanking, an $8.95 monthly fee could be avoided if customers used e-statements and self-service options for making deposits and withdrawals. Core checking requires customers to either maintain a $1,500 minimum balance or to make a monthly direct deposit of at least $250 to avoid a $12 monthly fee. This conversion of checking accounts has created a backlash. More than 379,000 people have signed a petition at change.org asking Bank of America "to not end their free checking accounts." Fortunately, you can still avoid the fee-laden … [Read more...] about Where you can still find free checking accounts
A checking account that pays 5 percent interest
Forget about savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Safety-first investors looking for the best returns can earn more by socking their money in interest-bearing checking accounts. Twenty-one banks and credit unions now offer checking accounts that pay interest rates of 2 percent or more, according to a new study by BankRate.com. That's more than 10 times the yield you'd get on the average bank savings account, and it's comparable to what you'd earn on a 5-year certificate of deposit, which would levy a heavy fine if you wanted to withdraw your money early. It's also more than you could currently earn on a 10-year Treasury note. Checking accounts, of course, provide easy access to your funds at any time, and there's no risk to your principal because the federal government guarantees balances to $250,000 per depositor. "Even in this low-rate environment, consumers can generate hundreds of dollars in interest earnings per year with these accounts," said Bankrate.com Chief Financial … [Read more...] about A checking account that pays 5 percent interest
The high price of having a checking account
Finding a checking account has perhaps never been so complicated -- or expensive. It can cost as much as $800 per year if a consumer makes the wrong choices, such as incurring overdraft fees, according to a new study from WalletHub. Consumers with the least amount of money are often the ones shelling out the most, the study found. The average "cash-strapped consumer," or people whose accounts frequently dip into negative territory and who lack lines of credit or a savings account to provide a buffer, can end up incurring about $470 in annual fees. One rule of thumb when searching for checking accounts that save money is to look at credit unions and online-only banks. "We've actually seen the cost of checking accounts increase over the past couple of years," noted Jill Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for WalletHub. "Usually online-only banks typically have the lowest fees because they don't have the same type of overhead. They have a younger consumer in mind." Those banks … [Read more...] about The high price of having a checking account