ATM Fees and Bank Fees Rising through the Roof!

A few months ago Bank of America raised the ATM fee for non -customers to $3.00 per transaction. Prior to that the fee was generally $1.50-$2.00. Bank of America has one of the largest networks of ATMs with 19,000 nationwide. There are approximately 400,000 ATMS in the US. Now other banks are joining in with the higher ATM fees for non customers. This is on top of your own bank surchase for using an ATM from another bank. That could raise the fee to $5.00 or more. My suggestions are to use only your own bank ATM and consider a credit union or other bank that rebates ATM surcharges. Some of these credit unions will refund the $3.00 out of pocket ATM fees and not charge any additional fees. Usually they have a cap of $20.00 You can use your ATM/debit card at a grocery store and get cash back usually up to $100.00. Walgreens and other drug stores will let you get up to $50.00 or so approx. Now banks are raising NSF/bounce check fees. this is a huge moneymaker for banks. One bank executive quoted in the Wall St Journal this weekend said he is always looking for new revenue sources as he raised his NSF fee from $32.00 a check to $35.00 per check. The answer to this is have a checking account that has an overdraft feature from a savings account etc, and dont write any bad checks. My suggestion is to use a bank with a good online system and really use it to manage checks and bills without hand writing many checks. Quicken or Microsoft Money can also help you track investments/savings and checks. Don’t let these greedy banks get the best of you, or have you pay for their losses on bad mortgage loans.

FDIC Calls for Banks to Convert ARM loans

Various news agencies are reporting a story from the head of the FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. Bair is calling for banks to take all homes covered in ARMS right now and freeze the rates/and or convert them to a fixed rate product. This would apply only to homeowners who are current on the loan and,live in the home (no speculators or flippers). Personally I think that this would be a great idea for banks to fix the problem of these loans adjusting at much higher rates and having defaults. With current interest rates favorable to the banks and easing credit from the Federal Reserve, this could work out. Maybe its time for some fresh ideas in the way that the banks do business. Clearly they took on some hge risks with homeowners, but now they have a chance to reduce their losses and get back on track.

High Yield Savings? Are the rates going down?

With the Federal Reserve cutting the discount rate last week by .50% (one half point) some consumers are wondering if their higher yielding cds and money market rates will be going down as well. My answer to that is there will be high rates offered online and so far there have been no major changes for competitive reasons. As long as the banks and lending institutions can make money on your money, they will still fight for new deposits and to keep you as a customer. One of my favorite online savings banks is Emigrant Direct which is currently paying 4.75% on your money with no minimums. I still can’t see any benefit in one year CDS as these online money market rates are very aggressive and you have full liquidity of your money at all times. Amtrust Direct is paying 5.21% on your money.  I do some banking at Amtrust personally and the in branch  rates in branch are lower with large minimums. Online you can get 5.21% from Amtrust (Ohio Savings Bank) Open an account online with Amtrust Direct with as little as a dollar! Of course that will generate you .05 cents a year! All these banks are FDIC insured. And by the way no major bank is going under due to mortgage loan defaults.  Countrywide Bank is paying 5.50% on (Min 10K investment). Don’t leave your available cash earning a fraction of a penny with those monster MEGA banks! Recently Netbank was taken over by the FDIC due to a problem with home mortgage defaults and the accounts were moved to ING Direct.

Bank Raising Customer Fees!

Banks routinely raising customer fees in August and December is no coincidence. In August because people are in vacation mode so they don’t notice gouging of new fees. Bank of America just raised their ATM FEE to $3.00 in their August surprise. In December customers are in holiday mode and they might not notice these fee increases as well. I think it is time to leave banks that impose these ripoff fees. Bank of America and other monster banks have merged and bought out many of the little guys. However credit unions and the Internet might equal the playing field. I hate waiting in line aat banks and rarely visit any branch except for making an ATM withdrawal or deposit. If you can direct deposit checks into the bank and use credit cards and ATMS for charges and cash, you can save plenty of time and hassle. When you go to close your acocunt should somebody ask why, tell them you can get a better deal elsewhere. An uninformed customer is their best customer.

Out of Network ATM Fee Ripoff

Out of Network ATM fees are a huge ripoff. today Bank of America one of the largest banks in the world raised the out of Network Fee to $3.00 from $2.00. In addition to these fees you own bank may asses a fee of $1.00 or more. All of these fees are a ripoff. To avoid these fees use your ATM card at a drugstore like Walgreens or a Grocery store taking as much cashback as possible. Usually that is $50.00-$100.00. Some credit unions and various banks waive a certain amount of these out of network fees. Don’t pay to get yo9ur own money!

Banks Fighting for Customers

My local newspaper Florida Sun-Sentinel www.sunsentinel.com did a story today about banks in South Florida fighting for new customers. In this market two banks Bank of America and Wachovia control approximately 50% of the business. In South Florida with alot of retirement wealth, these are huge banks. The banks said they want middle income customers because they really dont care about prices for services, basically they are looking for long hours and banking convenience. They will offer you good service so basically you get no interes in your checking account and small interest on your deposit products in my opinion. We live in an age of direct deposit, ATMS, online banking etc. I hate going inside a bank branch and I go for the best deals online. The key is to get a FREE checking account from a bank or credit union and to move all excess cash into a money market fund like Emigrant Direct www.emigrantdirect.com. and get 5.05% on your money. You can move money back and forth using ACH (automated clearinghouse) totally FREE. Spend the time to find a good deal and use ATMs and direct deposit to avoid banking lines. I use online banking and credit card websites to pay as many bills as possible. The same goes for utility bills and such. The paper check is a dying technology. I suggest using a good point credit card for everything and paying your bills monthly. You get all sorts of FREE stuff with the points.

Getting the Most from your Bank

A local bank in South Florida is Amtrust Savings bank. They have branches in Ohio/Ohio Savings Bank, and Arizona. In a prior article I made mention that internet users have an advantage over those who do not go online. Here is an interesting case study. The local bank offers no interest on standard checking accounts. You can open a gold savings account at a local branch and get 3.5% ($500.00 min) You can get interest on higher checking balances with various minimums. However if you go to this website http://www.amtrustdirect.com you can get 5.36% with only $1000.00 to open. This money market rate is higher than their local branch cd rate. You won’t get this rate in branch. Online only. Since you can move money pull and push via ACH/automated clearing house. Again I make mention that there is no reason to get small interest from a local bank or Big Monster Mega Bank! (As Clark Howard always mentions)

Don’t Pay for Out of Network ATM fees

Banks make alot of money from customers using ATM’s out of network. If you use a ATM that is not your banks machine you might be charged as much as $5.00 or more for the money you get. Most charge a fee on top of the ATM owner fees. My suggestion is go to a bank or credit Union that allows some free ATM’s out of network. One suc bank is Meadows Credit Union out of Chicago. They offer high interest paying checking accounts and will credit you $20.00 per month for out of network fees. Meadows also lets you bank online so out of state people can open accounts with them. I have also heard that PNC Bank, Washington Mutual and TD Banknorth also offer a fee free program. Check with these banks for full details. Another great tip to get some cash is to use your ATm card at a grocery store or drug store that allows some cash back. Usually they will allow $50.00-$100.00 or more. This is a great way to avoid frequenting the ATM’s altogether.

Don’t Get Ripped off By Your Local Bank

Do you have a checking account or savings account at your local bank that pays no interest or some lowball rate? There is no need to put up with that. Consumers can get 5% or more on savings/money markets and checking accounts. With these accounts you can fund them via bank ACH at no cost. You can draw money out via ACH as well. ACH is way to transmit money elexcronically at no cost. It might take a few days depending on the bank. My top banks for high interest- www.emigrantdirect.com,  www.umbrellabank.com

Most of these banks don’t have a min balance, however it doesnt make much sense to have very small amounts as you won’t generate much interest.
Currently I think short term (1 yr) Cds are not worth the hassle as they accounts pay as much or more with full flexibility in removing the funds if you need with no penalty.