Consumer Resistance Mounts Quickly Over Debit Card Fees

debit card fees

Survey Confirms 66% Will Quit Swiping Their Debit Card

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. –In a poll conducted by GFK Roper Public Affairs & Media, the American public has made it abundantly clear that they are not pleased with the new debit card fee planned by the banking industry to be rolled out soon and, that if they are charged a fee to access their money in their own bank accounts, 66% of them will stop using the debit card altogether. Even more shocking is that 80% have indicated that they would be willing to switch banks to avoid the charges.

“The survey results confirm what our clients are telling us following the recent announcements by large banks, including Bank of America that, in 2012 they will be charging depositors a monthly fee for the right to access their own money with a debit card”, said Stephen D. Marcus, President of A New Horizon Credit Counseling Services, a nonprofit organization providing credit counseling and debt management services.

81% of the subjects that responded to the survey said that they would prefer to pay with cash, while 78% said they would transfer to a bank that has no fee. 68% responded that they would stop using the debit card entirely; however 42% said they would change back to a credit card.

“We have always advised our clients to use debit cards instead of credit cards. Debit cards encourage more responsible spending behavior because of the inherent limits of the amount on deposit. But with these new charges we have been advocating alternative forms of payments and moving bank accounts to credit unions to avoid fees”, said Marcus.

The backlash against the new debit card fees has even infiltrated the space occupied by social media. More than 32,000 people on Facebook at “Bank Transfer Day” have pledged to close their bank accounts and transfer their funds into a credit union on the fifth of November as a form of protest against the debit card fee.