Melissa Lam is thinking about switching bank accounts after hearing that Bank of America will start charging customers $60 annually for having an active debit account.
“College students are broke,” Lam, a Boston University School of Education sophomore, said while in line at a Bank of America ATM machine. She added that it would make more sense for students to change accounts in light of the new fee.
Last week, Bank of America announced that it would withdraw $5 per month from its members’ checking accounts beginning in 2012. The fee will be charged every billing cycle customers use their debit cards to take out funds from their accounts.
Many BU students, including Lam, said that they were not aware of the bank’s new policy.
On the Massachusetts Bank of America website, under Debit Card Overview, there is no indication of the upcoming fee. There is only a list of advantages, including over 18,000 ATM locations, reimbursement for fraudulent purchases, online banking and a cash-back program.
Under the website’s Frequently Asked Questions about ATM Cards at Bank of America, there is no note about the $5 monthly charge set for next year.
“Bank of America customers can withdraw cash with their Bank of America ATM card or optional debit card without a fee at nearly 18,000 Bank of America ATMs in the United States and at over 55,000 international ATMs operated by members of the Global ATM Alliance,” according to the site.
Under the basic Bank of America Essentials plan, customers can have an “optional” debit card, where “fees may apply.”
The BU campus has several Bank of America locations, such as the branch and ATM at the George Sherman Union, the branch and ATM in Kenmore Square and the ATM near the St. Mary’s Street stop on the MBTA Green Line.
But students, who are current Bank of America customers, said that they were not aware of the change in fees.
Lam said that she may have received notification from Bank of America, but nothing was made clear.
“You just skim over the emails,” she said.
Latchmi Gopal, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said while standing in line for the Bank of America ATM at the George Sherman Union that she did not know the bank would soon charge the fee.
“I’m getting charged $5 per month?” she said. “I had no idea. Obviously I’d prefer that they not do that.”
Gopal said she recently switched over to Bank of America when she came to BU because it was a convenient option as a new college student.
“They won’t lose a lot [of customers], especially around here because Bank of America is so convenient and there aren’t that many other options,” she said.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Hallie Cooke said that she might want to switch banks, but that other college students will most likely stay with Bank of America if they are already customers.
“I feel like they won’t lose that many college students because they won’t bother to change,” Cooke said. “For them, $5 per month might not be that big of a deal.”
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