Since the Federal Reserve enacted caps on debit-card transaction charges, some of the largest banks have compensated for lost revenue by enacting monthly fees for debit card use. Meanwhile, a number of local banks and credit unions have begun capitalizing on the new charges by attracting fee-averse customers who are looking for a new bank with which to do business. Joseph Zanco, CFO of Home Bank, says the bank has seen an uptick in new accounts since the legislation took effect on Oct. 1. “I don’t want to imply that customers are beating down our doors,” he says. “Are they coming in droves? No. But we are seeing a few. The fees are forcing others to examine their banks, and those folks are perhaps looking now to migrate to local banks.” He says Home Bank currently has no plans to play up the lack of fees in its advertising, as have banks such as Capital One. Darryl Long, CEO of Telco Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge, also says interest in his institution is rising. “Especially in the last three weeks, customers are opening checking accounts because we have no checking or debit fees,” Long says. He says Telco relies very little on advertising, and he does not see that changing. “We count on word-of-mouth, people telling their friends about us,” he says. C.R. “Rusty” Cloutier, founding president and chief executive officer of MidSouth Bank, says his bank will aggressively court those potential customers dissatisfied with debit fees. Read the full story here. —Ian McGibboney
Today’s poll question: Would a new monthly fee for debit card use lead you to consider changing banks?
