Students wary of debit card fees

Sophomore exercise science major Matthew Grimm uses the First Financial Bank ATM located in the HMSU Commons.

ISU students will not have to worry about paying bank fees for debit card transactions, even as those fees are a new reality for some customers of larger banking institutions.

Last week, Bank of America announced it would begin requiring customers with debit cards to pay a $5 monthly fee.

Bart Colwell , president of Terre Haute Savings Bank, said debit cards would remain free at his bank.

"I see it as a big bank issue because they lost most of their income in the economic fallout," he said.

According to a story by the Los Angeles Times, tightened regulations for large banks have made added fees necessary to compensate    from limited fees merchants pay to banks from debit card revenues. Bank of America said the fee would be phased in starting next year. The institution's assets make it the largest bank holding company in the U.S ., according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which prescribes principles and standards for the federal review of financial institutions.

Amid uproar from customers nationwide, Citigroup, Inc.—another megabank that owns Citibank—announced it might also impose a debit card fee unless customers keep more funds in their checking accounts.

Neither Bank of America nor Citibank have branches in Terre Haute. Representatives from First Financial Bank and Old National Bank, which are popular banking choices in the Wabash Valley, did not return requests for comment.

Some students said they would not pay to use their debit cards. Sophomore technology major Derrick Robinson said his bank provides free checking and debit card services.

Toyosi Yusef , a sophomore communication major, said he thought if banks continue to charge extra fees to customers, they risk losing trust.

"Imagine in 10 years how the banking system is going to be," Yusef said. "It's going be worse than what it is now. We think this $5-a-month crap is bad.Watch what they're going to do in five years."

Robinson said he thought evolving technology would eventually make regular trips to the bank unnecessary.

"Since we can check all of our accounts on the Internet, smartphones and iPads ," he said. "We can also transfer and put in money through our account, as well. So I feel eventually we will rarely use them. Only if we cannot fix the problems

Source: http://www.indianastatesman.com