{"id":2604,"date":"2016-07-13T19:53:53","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T02:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?page_id=2604"},"modified":"2017-05-17T19:30:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T02:30:22","slug":"bank-transfer-day","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/bank-transfer-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Drain The Banks!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The original Bank Transfer Day, on November 5, 2011, was created by Kristen Christian. The tradition is repeated every November 5 to remind everyone to move their money from the large corporate banks to credit unions or local community banks.<\/p>\n

DemocracyNow.org on the creation of Bank Transfer Day<\/strong>: \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2011\/11\/9\/bank_transfer_day_kristen_christian_on<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Move Your Money: <\/strong>\u00a0Move Your Money tri-fold<\/a><\/p>\n

Dump your big bank and save<\/h1>\n

Tired of your megabank\u2019s fees, tactics, and practices?<\/h2>\n
Published: September 2013<\/div>\n
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Internet-only banks have low fees and deliver services via smart phone and computer.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Remember Bank Transfer Day, two years ago this month? That\u2019s when mad-as-hell consumers were supposed to bring giant banks such as Bank of America, Chase, and Citibank to their knees by moving their money to nonprofit credit unions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It was a bust. Few people switched, in part because of the grip big banks had on them with their alluring online and mobile-banking services<\/a>. Those let you use your computer<\/a> and smart phone<\/a> to watch balances, find ATMs, make account transfers, pay bills, and even deposit checks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Now the top 10 credit unions have caught up, and many smaller ones have added, or are working to add, smart-phone banking, says Mary Monahan, an executive at Javelin Strategy & Research, a California market research firm. And new competitors have entered the fight for your dollars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So if you\u2019re still sick and tired of your\u00a0megabank\u2019s sneaky fees<\/a>, questionable investment tactics, and\u00a0slippery mortgage-lending practices<\/a>\u00a0(video),\u00a0now may be the time for you to stage your own Bank Transfer Day. Here\u2019s the lowdown on five alternatives worth considering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>Credit unions<\/h2>\n
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Why?<\/strong> They offer all of the services of a bank (and federal deposit insurance) but tend to charge considerably less for checking accounts and loans. And they generally pay higher interest rates on savings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why not? <\/strong>The customer-satisfaction rating for credit unions dropped five points last year, to 82, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which tracks 48 industries. Nevertheless, they still outscored Chase (74), Citibank (70), and Bank of America (66).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where to find them.<\/b> Membership is open only to people in a specific group, such as employees of a company, members of an association, or residents of certain communities. Go to mycreditunion.gov<\/a> to find prospects near you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>Regional banks<\/h2>\n
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Why? <\/strong>If you\u2019re uncomfortable cutting the cord to a traditional bank, check out a regional or midsized bank. They now offer the same technological bells and whistles but also provide significantly higher satisfaction than the four biggest national banks, according to the ACSI. Their satisfaction score was 79 last year, placing them below credit unions but above the big banks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why not?<\/strong> Smaller isn\u2019t always better. In Texas, Regions Bank ranked last among 13 banks assessed in J.D. Power\u2019s 2013 Retail Banking Satisfaction Survey. That was worse than Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Bank of America, though Frost National, another regional, topped the Lone Star State list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where to find them.<\/b> Go to jdpower.com for rankings of regional banks serving your section of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>Community banks<\/h2>\n
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Why? <\/b>The nation\u2019s 7,000 community banks are the go-to place for neighborly service, small business loans, and for keeping your money in the local community. Almost all community banks offer online banking, 64 percent have free checking if you maintain a minimum balance, and about half are members of free ATM networks like Allpoint, Money Pass, and SHAZAM. More than half of larger, 10- to 20-branch community banks, with assets greater than $500 million have mobile banking apps.<\/p>\n

Why not?<\/b> If banking by cell phone is a must, you won\u2019t find it at the majority of smaller, three- to six-branch community banks under $500 million in assets, but almost half expect to add this convenience by 2015.<\/p>\n

Where to find them.<\/b> Visit the Independent Community Bankers of America bank locator<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>Virtual banks<\/h2>\n
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Why?<\/strong> They typically charge no monthly fees, have low penalties or none at all, and offer FDIC insurance, direct deposit, electronic bill payment, debit cards, photo check deposit, and national networks of fee-free ATMs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why not?<\/strong> There are no physical branches, which might be unsettling unless you\u2019ve embraced mobile banking and rarely need to set foot inside a branch. Plus the low- or no-fee business model might be jeopardized at some virtual banks that partly finance their operations from the fees they collect every time a customer uses a debit card to make a purchase, because in July a federal court ruling signaled that those fees might be regulated lower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where to find them. <\/strong>Search online for virtual banks including Ally, Capital One 360 Checking, GoBank, and Simple.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>Prepaid cards<\/h2>\n
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Why?<\/b> Once a high-priced option for low-income consumers who couldn\u2019t qualify for a checking account or credit card, prepaid cards have moved into the mainstream and offer many of the features of a checking account. Almost all of them come with FDIC insurance. And when Consumer Reports rated 26 cards<\/a> in July on value, convenience, safety, and other measures, it found that consumers could avoid the few fees that the best ones had.<\/div>\n
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Why not?<\/b> All prepaid cards aren\u2019t created equal. And while our Ratings didn\u2019t compare the cost of checking accounts vs. a prepaid-card alternative, we did find that the worst prepaid cards have high, unavoidable charges, including activation and monthly fees, and that one lacked FDIC insurance. Four prepaid cards to avoid: AccountNow Gold Visa Prepaid Card (MetaBank), Reach Visa Prepaid Card (Tom Joyner), Redpack Mi Promesa Prepaid MasterCard, and American Express for Target.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where to find them. <\/strong>Consider the best we found: Bluebird with direct deposit (American Express), H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard, Green Dot Card (Green Dot Bank), and Approved Prepaid MasterCard (Suze Orman) with or without direct deposit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Editor’s Note:<\/strong>This article appeared in the November 2013 issue of Consumer Reports<\/i> magazine. On October 29, 2013, we added information on community banks.<\/p>\n

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The Young Turks has partnered with Aspiration.com to promote a progressive alternative to corrupt
\nbanking and investment.<\/p>\n

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What is Aspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aspiration is a new kind of financial firm that\u2019s built on conscience, focused on the middle class instead of millionaires, and founded on the idea that we can do well and do good at the same time.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what they offer: <\/strong><\/p>\n