The major banks are so unpopular and divisive right now I would not be surprised if the GOP unapologetically ran them as a 2012 presidential candidate to attempt to defeat Barack Obama. (Seriously, if faced with a choice of Michele Bachmann or a Chase/Bank of America ticket, who would you choose? Thought so.)

Although we’ve got the Occupy Everywhere protests (with Occupy Chicago, Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LA in the news), it seems that demonstrations in the street aren’t even the tipping point for a coming exodus to online banks and credit unions. It all began in earnest when the issue of exorbitant bank fees (even after the massive taxpayer funded Troubled Asset Relief Protection (TARP) bailouts caused the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Bill, limiting the ways in which big banks could squeeze blood from the stone that is their strapped based of customers) became more prominent.

At this point, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank began trying to behave more transparently and cut the crap, so relieved they were that the American people showed them kindness and mercy after their gambling addiction was revealed along with its devastating effect on the economy. Just kidding! Bank of America announced a hefty $5 debit card fee and the other three axed points programs and free checking, ensuring that consumers would not only pay more to bank but also that the idea “government regulations cost you money” would become more entrenched and strapped consumers would feel terrified and back off calling for reform.

Part of the “Occupy” movement is a small push for everyone to leave their big bank behind and move their money to a credit union (most Americans qualify for at least one, and you can check findacreditunion.com to locate yours) or online bank like ING or Ally to get away from the ever increasing web of fees.

Will you be moving your money to an online bank or credit union ahead of new fees?

Online Banks Eyed By Consumers With “Fee Fatigue” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Fed up with your current big banks new debit card and other monthly fees? Perhaps now would be a good time to try out online banking.

According to ThirdAge:

“Banks such as PerkStreet Financial saw twice as many new customers sign up Friday, days after Bank of America announced they would charge $5 for using debit cards.”

Banks such as PerkStreet often have far better terms than traditional banks, for example PerkStreet only requires a $25 minimum deposit and their debit card not only doesn’t cost anything, they provide perks such as free coffee, music and even cash (2% back) when users earn points from their debit card use.

Other online institutions offer higher variable interest rates on accounts because their cost of operation is less than traditional brick and mortar banks which pay maintenance fees on their buildings while staffing a large employee base to operate their various locations.

If nothing else the online banking system is slowly proving that big banks crying about overdraft protection and debit card swipe fee laws simply don’t know how to create a profitable business structure in the age of digital banking.

There are of course some issues with online banks, such as the inability to easily deal with paper checks and customer service related issues as more customers continue to join the online banking sector as those online banks are rushing to add more employees to their call centers.

Do you think online banking will continue to grow as large banks alienate customers with an ever increasing number of banking fees.

Online Banks Stealing Customers From Big Banks [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sound crazy? Check it out: A British bank customer says he wasn’t pleased with his bank, Lloyd’s TSB, so he changed his banking password to “Lloyds is pants.” Brilliant insult, if I don’t say so myself.

But things only get funnier from there. The guy says he soon discovered a bank staff member had changed the password — to “no it’s not.”

So our fella, of course, tried to change it again. This time he opted to go with “Barclays is better,” referring to a competing British bank. He says, though, the system wouldn’t let him; he had mysteriously been locked out of changing the password at all. And when he called the bank, he says they wouldn’t let him change it back to “Lloyds is pants,” either — because they thought it was inappropriate.

“I asked if it was ‘pants’ they didn’t like, and would ‘Lloyds is rubbish’ do? But they didn’t think so,” he told the BBC.

Our saucy lad asked if he could change it to “censorship,” but the bank shot that one down too.

The bank has since apologized and says the employee who made the initial change no longer works there.

What a load of pants.

Using “Pants” In Your Password Can Backfire is a post from: The Inquisitr