
Why Should the Big Banks Get Free Money? - JumpCrisscross
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/business/dealbook/why-should-the-big-banks-get-free-money.html
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makecheck
The entire concept of a “bank fee” is insane. “Interest” is supposed to mean
that the bank pays YOU a not-insignificant amount in exchange for using your
money (otherwise, you could put your money anywhere, and not use their
services!). Yet you need to keep thousands of dollars hung up, out of reach,
to amass more than a few pennies of “interest”. Meanwhile, a single ATM will
cost more than you probably gain from a YEAR of interest income, and the
slightest error will result in a fee that burns a couple of days of lunch
money.

Then the bank has the _audacity_ to drag its damned _feet_ to let you transfer
money between banks, usually taking several days (even though debits go
through so fast you weren’t even sure you’d clicked the BUTTON yet).

And this is all before we even consider that banks are probably selling your
information, and they have been caught intentionally rearranging transactions
to maximize fee collection, etc.

This doesn’t mean that banks are completely useless (bill payments are quite
convenient, etc.) but let’s not pretend they don’t need _several_ laws put in
place to turn them back into good citizens.

