Thanks to the brilliant minds at Bank of America who thought slapping a $5 debit card fee made sense, many Americans have started to shift money out of their expensive and TARP-loving banks over to credit unions. Who really wants to prop up the obscene bonuses at the too-big-to-fail banks?
The spirit behind "Bank Transfer Day" caught fire with the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and had more than 79,000 supporters on its Facebook page as of Friday. The movement has already helped beat back Bank of America's plan to start charging a $5 debit card fee.And again, a special thanks to Bank of America for helping make this day possible. Love you!
It's not clear to what extent the banking industry's about-face on debit card fees will extinguish the anger driving the movement. But many supporters say their actions are about far more than any single complaint.
"It's too little, too late," said Kristen Christian, the 27-year-old Los Angeles small business owner who started "Bank Transfer Day." She already opened accounts at two credit unions in preparation for cutting ties with Bank of America this weekend.
