Curtail free checking? That’s a curious decision
Bank of America’s move is a gift to credit union marketers.
In light of the continued and rightful focus on the paycheck-to-paycheck demographic, Bank of America’s January move to curtail its free checking offers becomes even more curious.
To be fair, headlines claiming BOA eliminated free checking are overstated. Free checking remains available for students under age 24 and account holders with a monthly direct deposit of at least $250 (or $3,000 in aggregate for the year).
Regardless of the fine print, the optics are terrible—and gift-wrap a credit union marketing angle.
At the same time as moving these low-end consumers into a maintenance fee status, BOA took the opportunity to hike that monthly fee from $8.95 to $12.
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