banking

Payroll Debit Cards - Less Choice, Lower Wages

October 5, 2011 by Calitics

by Angie Wei, California Labor Federation

Bank of America's new $5 monthly debit fee, unveiled Friday, sparked howls of protest from furious bank customers now threatening to walk away to more consumer-friendly banking options. No one knows exactly how many will follow through on the threat, but according to one poll, a $5 monthly fee will drive 66% of debit users towards alternative methods of payment—cash, credit cards, or “other.” Agree or disagree with the 66%, but at least everyone can agree that it’s good consumers can freely decide to spend however they want and bank wherever they choose, right? Wrong.

Thanks to unaffordable fees, credit checks and other obstacles, big banks have shut out about a million California households from access to any banking services whatsoever. These “unbanked” workers, unable to receive direct deposit, have in recent years found employers replacing paper paychecks with mysterious “payroll debit” cards—electronic cards that charge massive fees only a banking lobbyist could love. Employers issue cards directly to workers, wages are loaded onto an account managed by the bank, and every payday, the nickel and diming begins anew.

Bank of America - A Unique Display of Corporate Greed

October 4, 2011 by Calitics

by Mitch Seaman, California Labor Federation

Forbes magazine as gutsy consumer advocate? Well, not really, but even the favored rag of corporate shills everywhere seemed stunned by Bank of America’s $5 debit fee announcement on Friday, accusing the banking behemoth of committing

a common mistake large corporations make: taking the customer for granted, holding the belief that whatever products or services they offer are unique and indispensible, so their customers will always be there.

While we agree that Bank of America’s incompetence runs rampant throughout the banking industry, by several measures of greed and arrogance, this troubled corporation stands alone. Allow us to present Bank of America with the following uniquely dubious titles:

On Imperfection, Or, How Do You Choose A New Bank?

October 3, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Like a lot of people these days, we have come to the conclusion that it’s time to change our lousy bank.

And it wasn’t even like we chose badly, either – we were customers of Washington Mutual for almost two decades, and we loved ‘em: they were nice people to deal with, they didn’t constantly hammer you every time you came in to the branch with desperate sales pitches, and they didn’t even charge you for using another bank’s cash machines.

It turns out, however, that all that beneficence came at a cost: WaMu made a lot of money making sketchy mortgage loans, and when it all came crashing down, we found ourselves customers of JPMorgan Chase, who we now hate with the fire of a thousand suns.

But it turns out choosing a new bank ain’t all that easy – and that’s where you come into today’s conversation.

Photos/Videos: Occupy Albuquerque in Solidarity With Occupy Wall Street

October 1, 2011 by Democracy for N...

Click for photo album