Does anyone have more details on this? The units don't seem to match in "per month for purchases" - like, $5 per purchase? $5 a month? $5 a month, but only on months in which you make at least one purchase?
And for heaven's sake, why?
As for the "why", the immediate reason is because there have been some legal changes vis a vis how much they can charge to the merchant for the benefit of running this transaction.
More generally, because they want to incentivize people to use their credit cards instead of debit cards. And for those who can't or don't want to get credit cards -- to incentivize them to take their business elsewhere, because the bank really doesn't make any money off people who just have checking accounts. Checking accounts are merely a gateway drug to more expensive banking products.
Doesn't bother me, I get 1% cash back on my credit card and am not dumb enough to spend more than I earn on it, so I already have no incentive to use my debit card for purchases.
Additionally, this isn't the whole of it, they've raised/instituted monthly fees for checking/savings accounts that don't meet certain minimum balance/deposit requirements. I have accounts with them that I got for free years ago that I haven't used in well over a year, they want to charge me nearly $400 a year for the privilege of keeping those accounts.
Meanwhile, the account I use now is at a local credit union. They don't charge me crazy fees, they don't treat me like crap, and they don't look likely to be going out of business in the next few years because of crazy financial decisions.
Do most people shop with their debit card?
Probably the people who use debit cards now are the same people who used to use checks? I actually don't know why. It may also be that note when you get a checking account you get a 'check card' for free, but checks cost money and are not hardly accepted anymore.
Also some majore discount chains such as WinCo don't accept credit cards. Debit or cash.
I would theorize that debit cards are most popular among lower-income people and those with bad credit or who know they have spending problems and therefore avoid credit cards.
I think the reliance on credit cards is largely an American phenomenon.
Interac's latest slogan is "Paying with Interac just feels right." When you are down to a feeling as a card benefit, you know there's a problem. Credit cards effectively won, and merchants are paying :)
EDIT: I have a corporate CC - but for personal, I dont have any CC - and only pay cash for that which I want. I have zero debt.
- Put at least 20% down on your home.
- Choose a 15-year, fixed-rate conventional mortgage.
- Have a strong employment history and personal income to support the loan.
- Demonstrate 4–6 trade lines that span 18–24 months. These are just regularly recurring expenses such as rent, electric bills, water bills, cell phones, etc.
[1] http://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-truth-about-your-credi...
[2] http://www.churchillmortgage.com/info/no-credit-score.aspx
Because fuck you, that's why.
No:
The round of new charges stems from a rule, which takes effect on Saturday, that limits the fees that banks can levy on merchants every time a consumer uses a debit card to make a purchase.
Given the low rate of fraud on debit card purchases, banks were previously making a killing on from debit card fees; with those fees reduced, they need to find an alternative revenue stream. US banks aren't exactly doing well these days, so their need to replace that revenue with something else is understandable.
This metaphor is severely broken at this point, but you get the idea.
I don't know of anyone who supports free market ideals saying you should let sociopaths skin you alive, let alone singing praise. Some of the meaner people in the crowd do say "let the stupid people be exploited, it's their own fault if they don't realize they're being skinned and their stupidity keeps these things in power." I don't particularly agree with that sentiment, though it is rooted in another one: if customers are truly pissed, they'll go somewhere else [in the absence of government/monopolistic forces preventing them from doing so].
Basic banking services are not profit centers for banks at all. They only offer those services at low cost because the government forces them to. Basically, the upside to a checking account for a bank is that the bank has a platform to spam you for loans and other services.