There’s no “should” about it. Banks make money through charging fees and earning interest (and other things, too), and I don’t see any reason why they “should” make money off one but not the other.
Do you also get pissed when banks charge ATM fees because they are charging you “to withdraw your own money”?
My bank doesn’t charge me ATM fees.
Umm…if you have money in your account, and they’re making money by lending it out, then you have a bank balance, and your checks aren’t bouncing, right? Or am I missing something?
In 1979 (earliest I can remember) my bank charged 3.00 overdraft fee.
In 1981 it went up to 10.00.
In 1987 it went up to 20.00.
Lost track of other increse dates but now it’s 38.50.
Yup, they’re out to make money alright.
I’d leave my bank if it charged me ATM fees. And mine doesn’t.
Yes, I do. Very much. I make it a point to only use ATMs that don’t charge me for getting my own money.
Remember when ATMs first appeared? Some banks actually started charging customers for using tellers, trying to push customers to use the automated system, which allowed them to cut teller positions and, therefore, payroll. THEN they started charging for using the ATMs … “but it’s so convenient, surely you’ll pay for that, right?”
No, it really pisses me off. And this is where the free-market types should agree … non-ATM-fee-charging banks should always get our business.
No with the new computer systems, it must be 15 times as difficult to charge an overdraft fee. Banks would never abuse their customers. They get money practically for free and are guaranteed to make profits. But they are trying to makeup for the losses they incurred with Swaps. They will bleed you to get back where they were. They have to get their bonuses and huge salaries, you know.
Well, at least it’s not a $25 transfer fee.
You know, if you keep track of how much money you have in your checking account, this is never an issue.
I am a Luddite so I just write in down in my check register. But I’ll bet money there’s an iPhone or some other smart phone app. And don’t gizmos like that make it possible to move the money your ownself?
It’s not so much a problem of keeping track of the money, it’s more that the overdraft protection was a convenience. A convenience that I was already paying for in the form of interest on the overdraft account.
Say it’s a Thursday afternoon and I’m down to $50 in my account. I get paid the next day. On my lunch hour I’m at Home Depot and see a jigsaw on sale that I need for a weekend project for $150. I’d use my checking/debit card to buy it, the next day transfer money back over to cover it when I get paid, and pay the $1.25 in interest. Simple.
Now doing that will cost me $11.25. Or I can just start using a different credit card which is apparently what USBank wants me to do.
Duh. Of course they’re trying to make money and get more profits. It’s kind of a business. That’s what they do.
I have savings and checkings account at that bank. Most of the money is in the latter, and I don’t withdraw from it. I keep the checking account in the black by KEEPING TRACK OF MY PURCHASES.
Like an adult.
Also because I assume BoA is going to try to screw me, so I don’t give 'em an opening.
Most banks don’t charge for using their own ATMs. You get charged for using foreign ATMs
And what happens when someone else bounces a check on you, leaving you with less than your outstanding checks? HOW DO ADULTS DEAL WITH THAT?
I don’t have a bank. But, I balance my boyfriend’s checking account. TD Bank not only doesn’t charge him for using their ATMs, they give him a credit every month for fees charged by other banks for using THEIR ATMs.
I have no idea what their transfer fees are. He doesn’t transfer.
They’re open on Sunday also.
See, that’s what happens when you use a sane, sensible boring Canadian bank. 
Obviously that would suck. The only way to handle that possibility is to not count money paid you by check until you’re sure they’ve cleared; butof course that can be difficult for several reasons, several of which are the banks’ fault.
I’ll concede that it’s impossible to prepare for every eventually. Writing down every transaction as it happens won’t help if someone raids your account electronically, for instance. But I used to be a bank CSR, and I dealt daily with persons who went deep in the hole simly because they didn’t pay attention to what they were doing. When someone sat at my desk and wanted me to forgive overdraft fees, the second thing I did (and was trained to do) was to ask to see their checkbook register. People who kept good records would get a bye.
The first thing, of course, was to look at their history. I’d almost always forgive the fees the first time it happened. But the tenth? That’s indicative of the person not handling the account responsibly.
I also tend to check my account immediately before I use my card. But then I mostly use it to withdraw cash and pay that way, because despite what the commercials say it is quicker and more private. I can understand how some people would worry about doing that, though.
Frickin’ Socialists and their government controlled banks!
Saturday, not Sunday.