this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2024
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No, there's a US law now where they have to allow you to opt out of overdraft "protection". They just decline the transaction but don't charge you any fees.
If only they didn't charge fees. My bank charges an insufficient funds fee that's conveniently the same amount as the overdraft protection fee. So my options are eat the fee and get my stuff, or eat the fee and not get my stuff.
I'm not entirely sure this is legal, but I was told directly by a representative that these were my options. It's quite literally a poor tax.
I use a credit union and they don’t penalize for either one. There’s a small “get gud with money” fee for the transfer if you use overdraft protection, something like $1.50 or whatever, but I don’t think there’s an insufficient funds fee at all. They just decline the transaction. I mean it’s not like it actually costs them anything to compare the incoming charge to your account balance, so a fee for not being on the ball is silly.
So your options might actually be “eat the fee, or switch banking institutions”, but they won’t tell you that, ofc.
Well, yeah, switching institutions is always an option, unfortunately it's not a great one here. I've used a few, and unfortunately this one seems to be the best in my area.
Sorry to hear. Have you considered looking for one that does app-based banking and isn’t local?
I mean some 15 years ago I had a credit union that was very very regional, and I moved. But they had good online options (keep in mind this was like.. 2009-2011 or so and things have moved so far since) so I kept using them for several years until I found a better local credit union.
Maybe that would be an option for you as well, assuming you don’t need to go in in person for stuff frequently.
I haven't actually looked into any that weren't local. Well, I did, but none that I found I could qualify for at the time. It may be worth looking into again.
If you are in any sort of unique demographic, like you aren’t a straight white male office worker, you might look for credit unions that serve your specific population.
Like if you do trade work, there’s options. If you are Hispanic there’s options. Veterans have several options, women and feminists have several as well. Just sort of look for whatever fits you and see what might be available on a more national scale.
And if you are a cishet white male office worker with nothing to distinguish you from anyone else there’s probably a credit union for that, too. The theme of the day is themes. Credit unions that aren’t regionally based are nonetheless community based, and I’m sure you fit a community.
Really tho I hope you find something that fits so you can buck the bank. Banks are horrible and we can do better! Through unions!
Edit: I looked up Star Trek credit union just for giggles and there’s a NASA credit union, hence the theme being themes.
multiple gov & military credit unions and specialized banks - navy credit, usaa, geico etc
Not the best places to look tbh. Nothing personal, ofc, but stuff to be aware of. Nothing comes up for geico news search but as a major company I don’t trust them in the slightest. But navy fed and USAA have both proven to be garbage piles.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-navy-federal-credit-union-to-pay-more-than-95-million-for-illegal-surprise-overdraft-fees/
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-04-26/fraud-bank-usaa-louisiana-13665723.html
eh, USAA has been stellar for me for 3 decades. A gaggle of call center employees going bad (and getting caught) is hardly wells fargo levels of garbage for example.
I guess if you are already with them you can overlook it because it’s easier, but I certainly wouldn’t encourage new people to be potentially swindled along with you, wtf?
Certainly not with an “eh”, like that’s normal shit to have happen (it isn’t at all, for the record)… comparing it to a more egregious actor doesn’t help your case either.. those bad things are still really bad even if someone else is worse.
How did random low level call center employees even manage to steal that much, if not poor organizational security?
Wait is there a gay credit union lol? I just use a regional one.
Yes, there is. It’s called superbia. Looks like it was founded in 2019.
I've used the free online banking from Charles Schwab as well as Capital One for years and don't see any fees. Schwab refunds any ATM fees for withdrawing cash, even internationally last I tried. Capital One also has a large partner ATM network.
I'm similar, but I'm with Fidelity instead of Schwab. Using a brokerage as a bank account is an awesome cheat code to getting awesome interest w/o any extra effort. My "checking" is a brokerage account and the cash sits in a money market fund making ~4.5%, which is awesome.
The main downside w/ an online bank/brokerage is lack of access to branch services, like depositing cash or withdrawing specific denominations. I maintain a local bank that doesn't entirely suck to get access to branch services and leave like $50 in there so they don't close it, and then just transfer money to/from as needed. All of my regular expenses go through my brokerage "checking."