Viewpoint: Are Big Banks Really Serving Cash-Strapped Americans?
Friday, June 14, 2019
By Colin Walsh
A few weeks ago, I wrote a check from my checking account with one of the nation’s largest banks. To cover it, I had to transfer money from the account I have with my mobile banking company. This took a day longer than expected, and I was grateful when my bank cleared the check for me even though I had insufficient funds. It was nice of them.
But, of course, that’s not the full story. At some point in the distant past, my checking account was connected to an overdraft line of credit. The interest rate on this line of credit is exorbitant. There was no courtesy email to tell me I had a new balance on this credit line. I paid $58.47 for the “courtesy” of having this line extended to me for two days.
Overdraft “protection” can feel like a misnomer, as anyone who has ever been charged an overdraft fee — or a collection of them — knows. “Violation” would be a more appropriate term in many cases.
Photo courtesy of Pexels.com.
Source: Forbes (link opens in a new window)
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