"It's just easier for me pretty much just keeping cash on me!" Sound advice from UAB student Adrian Lewis. But for Bank of America customers who like their plastic, they'll soon be denied if they don't have the funds in their account. Alex Henderson likes the idea of no fees. He says, "I think it's a good thing! I think you'll end up saving money. I mean it'll be kind of embarrassing, but it'll end up saving us money." That's because Bank of America decided to end overdraft fees. Rodney Evans says, "I think that's a great idea because the overdraft fees really takes a lot of your money."
Even though Bank of America did get a head start on changing their overdraft protection policy, American Bankers Association tells us all banks with overdraft protection will have to change their policy by mid summer. Carol Kaplan with American Bankers says, "Anyone with an ATM or debit card will not have over draft protection unless they opt in to their banks overdraft protection program."
It's called Regulation E. Basically, the Federal Reserve now requires banks to only use overdraft services if the customer signs for it. However Bank of America took it a step further and decided not to offer that service at all...but this only applies to card transactions.
Kaplan say, "If you still write a check and your bank offers overdraft protection they're allowed to pay your check even though you don't have the funds and go ahead and charge you an overdraft fee."
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