Huntsville, AL - The decline of free checking is in full swing with banks across the country charging more to keep your money. During the last two years, the number of US banks charging fees for your checking account has grown from less than 25 percent to more than half. "About 3 months ago, I received a letter from Compass Bank saying that the fees will be 8.95 or you're supposed to have 500 dollars in the bank," says bank customer, Valerie Blake.
She says she tried to keep $500 in the bank to avoid the fee, but now they are asking for more. "Then, three months later, I noticed, I received another letter that is stating that it's going to be 10.95. So, I'm about to close Compass."
That sentiment is shared by residents across the Valley. Now, more and more customers are turning to credit unions. "We've seen an average of about a thousand accounts a month opened up here," says Joe Newberry, the president of Redstone Credit Federal Union.
He says he can't say conclusively that the increase in customers is the result of bank fees. But, those fees are definitely a hot topic. The main question we hear is ya'll are not going to offer a debit card fee," says Newberry. "And, the answer is no."
The difference is the way a bank is structured compared to a credit union. Newberry says banks are set up with stockholders and a credit union only has members. "What the bank is working for is to profit those stockholders. At a credit union, we have a cooperative. We have 337,000 members and we work for our membership," he says.
And, for now, those members will not pay fees for checking accounts or debit cards.
