Citibank to Charge $20 a Month for Checking Account!

Personally I think that this is an outrage! Citibank is going to start to charge a fee on checking accounts that don't maintain a minimum balance!


Actually according to an online article, Citibank already has such a fee imposed but this time they have raised the minimal amount to avoid the fee - would you believe that this "minimal amount is! It's $20,000!



And would you believe that Citibank now has a promotional thing going on where they want to get more customers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


According to the article, Citibank really doesn't have a "free" checking account unless you meet their required minimal amount. I believe their "smallest" checking account requires that you maintain a minimal balance of $1,500 or you will be charged an $8 monthly fee (which is going to increase to $10 a month shortly).



This kind of article troubles me because I know that people are having a hard time with money right now and I remember way in the past when I had to cancel an old savings account because they were charging me too much in fees - to the point where I wouldn't have any money in the account at all! If I had kept that savings account it would have been in the negative and I would then owe them money!


Anyway, back to the article, where you can also read the comments of others about this and if you would like you can add your own comment(s) as well!


Tell me, what do you think about this?

Citibank Increses Their Fees

Banks Starting To Charge Debit Card Fees!

The online articles say that you should check your receipts to make sure that you are not being charged a fee for using your debit card!

It seems that since President Obama wants to crack down on the ways that banks charge for credit card fees the banks have found an alternative source of generating some income for themselves and that alternative is to charge people for using their debit cards.


It seems that this year more people used their debit cards than they did their credit cards which has been the first time that this has happened.

It seems that a number of banks are coming up with something called "loyalty" programs for their debit card users. However the terms still require either a fee or that the debit card user meet specific terms to be eligible for the loyalty program.

According to one online site:

"Consumers need to have an eyes wide open perspective when it comes to financial services. Fees are going to be cropping up, but that also gives you a chance to comparison shop. There may be just as many good deals at the other end of the spectrum."

To read more about this and view the article, just click here.

Avoiding Those Banking Fees - Tips!

I'm a very big fan of Selfgrowth.com and I found this article about tips to help one avoid those high banking fees!

I thought that I knew almost everything about how to avoid high banking fees - you know things like not using ATMs that are from another bank, etc.,....... But after reading the article I found some interesting stuff - especially about overdraft protection!

I always thought that overdraft protection was a good idea BUT I didn't know that there was a charge to have it!

It seems that there is a lot that I don't know!

Personally, I, myself, try to avoid banking fees but I have had them! I do have to make it a personal financial goal to stop incurring those banking fees! I have used other ATM's - mostly because I was in a rush and not able to get to an ATM that was with my own bank - so I used the ATM at the store I was at even though the ATM wasn't with my own bank. There was a charge for using that ATM plus there was a charge from my own bank for using that ATM! It does add up!

I realize that there may be instances where emergencies come up and you have to use an ATM that isn't with your bank but now in today's economy you have to try and save all the "pennies" you can - especially when it comes to those (high) banking fees!

I hope the article provides useful information for you all.

Be Sure To Keep A Close Eye On Your Bank Account!

It seems that the banking industry is finding new ways to gouge their account holders! Basically speaking banks are going to start to increase the banking fees that they charge their customers!

For instance some banks are going to double the fees that they charge for overdraft protection and some will even increase the fees that they charge for checking account maintenance.

An online article says that the banks say that consumers are using their debit cards more now than they are using their credit cards and since credit card interest is a big income generating thing for the banks they feel that they have to recoup their money (or should I say profit(s)) from elsewhere.

A good point that the article noted was that even though the banks got a big amount of money from President Obama's stimulus plan, the banks don't seem to be helping the consumers because of it. In fact it seems to be that the opposite is happening in that the banks are looking for yet other ways to profit.

The article didn't say that all of the banks would be doing this but they did give some examples of banks that will be. So if you're concerned and want to see whether or not your bank is on the list then I suggest that you check out the online article.

The Banks Are At It Again!

Do You Have A Bank Account?

I post this question because I was looking at one of the Adsense-related message forums and I saw that someone had posted that they can't believe that some people are still getting their adsense money by regular check. The person that posted stated that they think that Adsense should stop issuing Adsense earning by check!

Of course I think that this would be a huge mistake because without that option a lot of people would not be able to get their adsense earnings!

Just the fact that one is able to actually have a bank account in the first place is a blessing because not everyone is able to have a bank account. As a matter of fact I remember hearing a teller who worked at the bank saying that she couldn't even HAVE a bank account! There was even a time way back when I didn't have a bank account because I had been seriously overdrawn!

The problem with that is that the bank will actually let you be able to overdraw your account but then you get hit with these huge bank fees and that is what happened to me! In the meantime you can't open another bank account at another bank because you have it on your record that you owe another bank - so you can't open a new bank account somewhere else!

So if you do have a bank account - consider yourself lucky and be grateful that you are able to have it because having one and keeping one has gotten to be more harder - while in the meantime there are those who are not able to have a bank account at all!

Depositing Your Checks Without Having To Go To The Bank?

Technology is advancing so rapidly today. People can do their banking and pay their bills online. Now comes word that those of us that do our banking online may now be able to deposit checks without having to go to the bank!

Confused? So was I at first but it really seems to be quite simple. The process involves scanning the check but it isn't a sure thing yet. It's currently being experimented on and it will depend on whether or not your bank will allow you to have such an option. A lot of people already have their checks direct deposited so this might be another very good option to have.

I certainly love the convenience of being able to do my banking at all kinds of hours! I especially hate those long lines on Fridays and I'm sure that a lot of other people do too!

Of course I realize that not everyone has a banking account but for those that do there seems to be another convenient option well on it's way!

Here is a link to an article that talks more about being able to deposit checks without having to go to the bank.

Banks Pull In Over $1 Billion Dollars In Overdraft Fees!

Another interesting article that I found online!

Banks are certainly making a lot of money!

According to the article most of these overdraft fees come from atm transactions and debit card purchases.

Banks!

Of course any business that wants to stay in business has to make money. I was reminded of this when I saw a posting about banks. Banks make money in a variety of ways. They provide loans to people and businesses (and get paid for providing these loans), they also get money from atm and other service-related fees - as we the customer well know!

With all of this there are still banks around that don't have a minimum account fee and if and when you find these kind of banks please be sure to open an account. Having a bank account makes things a lot more easier and convenient.

I know that there are some people who don't and can't have a bank account because they have had some problems in the past but if you can please try to take care of them.

It has been pointed out that banks are seeking more and more customers and that they are trying various means (and enticements) to get them.