Paying outrageous bank fees on a monthly basis has become an unpleasant fact for many consumers. Even people who manage their money carefully can end up paying at least 1 -2 overdraft fees per month, easily running up a few hundred dollars in charges every few months.
The charging of overdraft fees is big business. Large banks have devised what some people believe are sneaky ways to get customers to pay the fees. For example, banks are known to actually re-arrange the order in which purchases made on the same day are processed: by processing the larger purchases first, an account can become overdrawn more easily, after which time multiple smaller purchases are processed – thereby over-drawing the account and incurring $35, $70, $105 or more in fees on that day alone.
Another trick: banks will automatically enroll customers in “overdraft protection” programs. Given their name, these programs sound at first like a safe haven for people who occasionally overdraft their accounts. In reality, these programs are merely an excuse for the bank to pay for an overdraft and then turn around and immediately charge a high fee to the customer each time this occurs.
Even though consumers have become increasingly aware of and concerned about the overdraft situation, there has historically been nowhere to run and nowhere to hide – short of hiding one’s money under a mattress. Why? Because almost all of the big banks are doing it.
Fortunately, there are a handful of national banks that do not charge overdraft fees at all. Here are 3 things for when searching for banks without overdraft fees:
1. Make sure the bank has an online sign-up option.
2. Select a bank that is FDIC-insured.
3. Make sure your bank allows you to conduct online banking, including the ability to make balance transfers and check balances online.
Banks that do not charge overdraft-type fees are still rare, but they are out there and open for business. Most banks prefer to continue to make huge money off of their customers in the form of overdraft fees. It’s worth making the effort to find a bank that refuses to charge overdraft fees of any sort.
