Paying to use my debit card

Banks are in a squeeze with bad mortgage loans. When they were restricted on how much they could charge the merchant, they had to make the money up somewhere. Sometimes the government should leave things alone. There is the option of credit cards. One can still find some that pay cash back for what you charge. Pay them off every month and the result is, you are making money.

Don't your banks charge fees for accounts anyways? I know ours do, and you're getting a steal of a deal. I pay $11.95/month for bank fees, and that's so I don't get charged for using my card too often. It's bad enough to have to pay an atm fee on top of an atm fee, which we have to do up here if we withdraw money from a bank that we don't have an account at.

I would stop using my debit card also if they happen to make these changes go in affect. I am not paying a fee of my own money just to withdraw it and spend it.

Is this a common practise with Banks where you are? Here in the UK,We have some banks offering "Plus" Accounts,where they charge a monthly fee and offer a bunch of incentives like holiday insurance,cellphone insurance,and car roadside recovery covered by these fees. Or,you could opt for a free basic account that will give you a debit card and not much else..Cheques here are going the way of the dodo..many businesses and shops no longer accept them. I tried one of these plus accounts,but I don't travel that much that the "Free" Travel insurance was worth my while paying out for it each month,my insurance covers a courtesy car anyway,and I'll replace the phone if it breaks!

Good timing on this topic for down here now! The owners of all our debit cards in the EFTPOS group are now charging retailers for any amount withdrawn for any purchase over $15 from today! Can you believe it? Retailers, instead of banks, are forced to pass on the costs to customers who are now turning to shopping online more. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-30/eftpos-needs-to-increase-charges-twt/3204230 It all adds up when you see there are over 2 billion of these transactions here a year. The banks used to absorb the costs, but not anymore! Someone's making a lot more money at our expense & all that's going to result is another kick in the guts for bricks & mortar retailers down here. I hope it doesn't happen elsewhere! I pay my bank hundreds of dollars in interest a month, so they had better not start charging me account keeping fees or they lose my business!

What a terrible decision of your bank. I also enjoy to use debit card and no extra charge for every transaction, if they start charge I will prefer to pay by cash. Looks like bank will be more and more creative to make money nowadays.

Well have you noticed that Interest rates on Homes might have dropped due to the Economy, but have you noticed since the Goverment bailed out all the banks the interest period has gone way up, plus they now charge us to use their accounts. Makes you really wonder don't it. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating. I know my bank charges if you take too many transactions from your savings a month which is unreal as well. Just to transfer it to another account?

I will not use a bank that charges a monthly fee for a bank account, that charges a fee for using a debit card, or that charges a fee per transaction. I advise you to find a local credit union in your area, and to try to get an account with them. If a bank truly values you as a customer, they will not charge you monthly fees to use their services. There is a bank a couple of miles from where I live. It is a local bank, and because I live in a rural area, it is the only bank in the town I live in. However, I chose to open an account at a credit union in a neighboring town instead of using the bank in the town I live in because I didn’t want to pay any monthly fees. I have to drive to a neighboring town almost fifteen miles away to conduct my banking business, but since I don’t have to do anything except deposit my paycheck most of the time, it is worth it for me to make the drive, especially since I only get paid twice per month, so I don’t have to make the trip very often. I usually go shopping in the town where the credit union I use is anyway, so I can usually just wait until I go there shopping to deposit my paycheck anyway, so it isn’t that bad…

I think that even better than just using cash would be to take your money to a different institution where you can use a debit card for free. I bank at a regional bank and the debit card is still free. I would never go back to a national bank since they are just out to make money and don't really care about you or anything else. I think that changing banks would make a louder statement than not using a debit card at your current bank. Happy thanksgiving!!!

Thats one reason i dont do business with banks. I use credit unions. Those charges are ludichrist. Every time you go to a ATM machine you get charged $2-$3. Thats crazy enough to keep me for using them. I only deposit what i need to pay my bills.

i am more comfortable using my debit card in paying, and i am grateful that my bank doesn't charge me a cent for using it. they even encourage their clients to use debit cards. this way, i save my time from falling in line at automated teller machines and from the risk of carrying cash with me and losing it. using debit card for paying makes financial life easier. i don't need to carry cash, i don't need to fall in line from ATM's, all i have to do is go outside and pay using my card without any hassles.

People tend to forget about the advantages of cash! It doesn't cost you anything extra. With cash, there isn't any need for a bank. Bankers need to remember that!

In Canada, debit cards are in such wide use that there isn't many businesses left that will even accept a cheque at all.

As long as i keep $50 in my account there are no fees for my checking account unless I overdraft then it is an arm and a leg. I get free checks and even earn interest (0.01% currently) on the money in my checking account because I have a mortgage with the same bank.

My bank used to charge $15 annually for the use of my debit card but I think they're also now going to charge monthly, which is a bunch of BS, isn't it? We're being charged to get our own money out of their bank and doing it in a way that actually costs them less! I mean, it's all done by computer so they don't need bookkeepers to balance all the checking accounts and they don't need as many tellers since people aren't using them to make deposits and withdrawals as much as they once did. Of course, we're supposed to feel sorry for the banks and blame the nasty old government for daring to put any kind of regulations and restrictions on their ability to screw their customers! Annie

What I wonder is what happened to the contract, didn't you have to fill out paper work to get your card, with certain agreements? I don't think that banks shoulc beable to get away with that. I know they all do, but, it doesn't make sence to have to pay someone for the pleasure of using your money to begin with. When you open an account of anykind with a bank they make money off of what you deposit and charge you for it. The bigger problem I see with this is the way they force a person to have an account to begin with. Hard to cash a check without one. In short I hate banks.

I received both email from the bank and read 3 days of featured articles in the newspaper following that. Mainly Bank of America. NOT happy.

my bank has started to charge me for going into one of their branch offices to deposit or cash checks. They are forcing me to make all my transactions through their atm which waste more of my time, and they will soon be charging for transactions at the atm too. It is very unreasonable, what the banks are doing these days to make money.

LOL I don't think every bank will start to do the same crappy thing since the main business is not, by any means, charging savers (people) commissions. Actually, no bank should charge any commission on their services since you are making them a big favour by letting them use your money as they will (and they do). Their business is on charging interests to credit requesters (e.g. companies). Rising the commission to people for using their services means the internal structure of the bank needs a rehab since they are going through a deficit time and they need to fix it getting money from wherever they can. They don't do it because they are willing to, actually the less they can do it, the better for the general health of it. Instead, they do it only when it is compulsory, when they have an emergence. So what I suggest you is trying with another bank and do not fear they will start doing so since the most likely to happen is the opposite.

You people in the United States call a debit card that is different than what we call a debit card in Canada. In Canada a debit card is just your bank card that is a convienience card that you use to do all your banking at an ATM machine or your bank branch machine. I use my debit card to deposit money and to withdraw money or to pay for something at a store. It is all hooked up to my bank account and as long as I have money in it I can use it to pay for anything. I pay a monthly fee of $12.95 on my bank account and I can use my debit card as much as I want, there is no extra charge. I don't know if our stores get any extra money or not for us using them but if they do it doesn't come out of my bank account. Have a good day my new friend, littlemissy signing off now