While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy, it’s clear that savers are hurting big time. The average savings account pays just under a quarter of a percent per year and it’s even less for money-market funds. Furthermore, the yield or return on savings accounts is actually negative if you account for inflation which is now at 4%. Read More.
Back in August, we wrote a piece entitled, “The New (Reduced) Debit Card Swipe Fees Are Coming to Retailers,” highlighting the consequences for the Federal Reserve voting to reduce the amount of debit card interchange swipe fees banks could charge retailers. Just as we had expected, big banks rolled out all sorts of new debit and checking account fees to recoup some of the losses. However, because of the backlash they received from major social media campaigns including a designated bank transfer day, the banks recanted. So, with all the noise and the potentials for other fees in the future, should you consider switching to a no fee bank? Read More.
A significant piece of the increased banking regulation set forth by the Dodd-Frank Act and the Durbin Amendment will go into effect October 1st, 2011. Banks have responded by exploring all different types of new fees and potential revisions to terms and conditions agreements. One such potential revision could put a cap on the total amount consumers spend per debit card transaction at $100, forcing them to pull out their credit card instead for large transactions. With this new legislation, let’s investigate who is the likely beneficiary: banks, the consumer, or retailers. Read More.
In unprecedented fashion, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) announced yesterday (8/4) that they don’t want any more money from some of their largest clients (over $50M in deposits) and they will start charging 13 basis points or .13% for holding their cash. You might be asking yourself why would a bank not want deposits and how will this announcement potentially affect the rest of us? Read More.
The financial woes for many regional banks continue with three more shutting down this year, bringing the total to 61 as compared to 157 in 2010. While many of the largest banks (i.e. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Citigroup) are in relatively stable financial position, it is always important to make sure your bank accounts are FDIC-insured. Read More.
By now, most if not all banks have implemented new banking fees to make up for the lost revenue as a result of the recently passed credit card relief bill. What was once “free” checking now comes with a fee and minimum monthly balance requirements are in vogue again. But, there are still ways to reduce or avoid the fees and you don’t necessarily have to change banks to do it. Read More.
Whether your child plans to work a part-time job while in school, rely on student grants & loans, or get money from Mom and Dad, the most important thing you can do is help instill good financial habits that will help your child pay bills in a timely fashion with the cash, & avoid running up credit card debt. Read More.
It used to be paying with travelers checks was de rigueur when traveling overseas, but these days they’re overshadowed by credit cards and ATM machines. However, there are some things you should be prepared for before you pull out the plastic when you’re abroad. Read More.
About six months ago, we wrote a piece entitled, “Protecting Your Bank Account, ” which warned of the threat of a major data breach impacting online banking. This past weekend the threat became reality. Email marketing company, Epsilon, reported its computers, which hosts email addresses and customer names from many major banks (Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One) and other fortune 500 companies, had been attacked by hackers. They stole an unknown number of email addresses and customer names which could potentially lead to a significant number of phishing attacks. This occurs when a sender fictitiously poses as a known sender such as Chase Bank and requests that the recipient (you) provide personal information such as your bank account number. While phishing attacks are the most likely result of this data breach, there could be more damaging results if necessary precautions aren’t taken. Read More.
Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for someone to be the victim of identity theft. Last year, 8 million Americans were the ID theft victims, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. The positive is that the number of victims fell from 11 million in 2009, but the out-of-pocket cost per victim jumped from $387 in 2009 to $631 last year. Read More.
Quick Reference
|
Topic
|
|
|
|
 |
