Thursday, 1 August 2013

Checking Fees, Unsurprisingly, Are Going Up

By Cornelius Nunev


Bank charges, in a recent survey, were found to have gone down substantially, as banks have stated they want to get back to serving customers. In Bizarro World! Just kidding; bank charges, including checking fees and so on were found to have increased again in a recent MoneyRate survey.

Always expecting more bank charges

Whenever possible, banking institutions will add more charges. Last year, Bank of America tried to charge a $5 monthly debit card fee, which ended in catastrophe. Banks are always attempting to see what they can get away with when it comes to charging extra fees.

However, if anything, banking institutions could be credited for consistency. Last year, banking account charges such as checking account fees and so forth went through numerous rounds of raises. Numerous rounds of bank fee increases have been noted already this year. A newly released survey by MoneyRate.com, according to Forbes, has revealed that checking fees and other bank charges, are indeed trending upward again this year.

Groups of increased fees

The MoneyRate survey showed that average opening balances increased from $391.41 to $408.76, according to Forbes. There were other fee increases seen in the survey, which is released every few months. The survey looks at over 100 banking institutions worth of data including the 50 largest banking institutions, according to CNN.

In order to keep away from overdraft charges, many people get payday loans. That shows just how expensive they are. The average overdraft increased to $29.83 from $29.23.

There was a rise from $3,590.83 to $4,446.57 in the minimum account balance required to keep away from charges. That is a 24 percent increase, and it was the biggest increase.

Larger banks were charging more fees than smaller ones, which is to be expected. The average large bank charged $13.88 in account charges while medium and small banking institutions saw an average of $11.87 and $9.88. Average monthly service charges increased from $11.28 to $12.08. The annual cost averages $145, according to CNN, considering the monthly charges.

The cost of using an ATM hardly changed unless it is for out-of-network ATMs, in which case it increased to $1.29, an 18 cent increase. There was also an increase to $2.40 for the average non-customer ATM fee. That is a three percent increase.

Best choice credit unions for free checking

Only 21 percent of big banks offer free checking right now, and 46 percent of small banks offer it too. Only 35 percent of banking institutions total offer free checking, which is a decrease from 39 percent last year.

In regards to accounts with no checking fees, the kings of free checking are still credit unions. According to the Chicago Tribune, a recent survey by Bankrate.com found that 72 percent of the country's largest credit unions still offer free checking accounts. However, it was still a slight decline, as 76 percent did so last year.




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