Thursday, August 26, 2010

Now You Pay the Bank--for Savings Accounts

Not only did you hand them a $Bazillion or so in "rescue" funds--now you pay them to keep your savings account, too.

Average interest on savings, checking, money-market and certificate of deposit accounts fell to 0.99 percent in July, the first decline below 1 percent in a decade, according to researcher Market Rates Insight. Banks also have been raising fees and adding new ones, most recently in response to the financial-services overhaul bill that became law July 21.

The article mentions Chase. Not only is a mattress a better place to keep your money; the mattress is not totally incompetent.

3 comments:

J. Strupp said...

1% might not be a bad yield in a year or so. Inflation could go negative. Just sayin'.

GOR said...

Yes, it's not your father's bank any more and now that banks can't charge exorbitant overdraft fees they will look for other ways to get money from you.

When ATMs were first introduced there were no fees for using them. The savings were to come from reducing the more costly human (i.e. teller) transactions with electronic ones. That soon changed with fees for interbank exchange, using 'foreign (i.e. other banks') ATMs, deposits as well as withdrawals etc. etc.

But with some care you can avoid most fees (barring a 'flat maintenance' fee). Use your own bank's ATMs or bank with a community bank that is part of a network of banks that allow you to use the ATMs of other banks in the network. Get cash back at stores (Aldi, Walmart, Pick 'n Save, etc.) instead of bank ATMs as they don't charge a fee - as yet. But it wouldn't surprise me if banks eventually try and figure a way to charge you for taking cash back at a store...

Dad29 said...

That's not all.

At one time, Clearinghouse rules FORBADE banks from charging a fee to cash "on-us" checks. That is, if you wanted to cash a check drawn on the First Wisconsin, and you could prove your identity, the Whiskey had to cash it (ass'g sufficient funds) at no charge to you.

Now? Clearinghouse agrees: screw these people, and screw 'em hard. I've paid five bucks to cash M&I checks at M&I.

Of course, I didn't lose umpty-zillion on poorly-vetted mortgages, either.