Banks are waiving account overdraft fees through the end of the year

melloweagle28 said:I absolutely disagree. I am the complete opposite. I avoid any merchant that doesn't take credit cards whenever possible. To me, using Cash is nothing more than a necessary evil, and supposedly a fantastic carrier for germs, cocaine, and urine.🙂

I despise installment plans, and while I haven't needed them yet, it's unrealistic to assume I'll always be in a position to avoid them. When money runs short, an installment plan is effectively an interest-free loan.

Good luck with your card reader obsession.
- First off, they charge you a fee just to use your own damn money. Money they’re busy spinning around in their accounts while it sits there, making a profit they won't share with you.

- Second, they grab all your spending data to build a profile on you that follows you everywhere online. Buy one weird little thing at a store, then wait an hour or two to see how it haunts you via ads when you're searching Google for something completely unrelated.

- Third, the lag. Every single time, I'm stuck waiting behind people who think using a card makes them look high-tech, or worse, if someone's card gets declined... man.

- Fourth: the system crashes right when things get real. Remember back in early 2020 when that earthquake hit New York City? The whole network went down on the West Side. People rushed to stores for food, water, baby supplies, you name it. And of course, out of five people in line—when there's usually barely anyone—I was the only one holding Cash. I checked around the neighborhood, same story everywhere. It didn't normalize until late that afternoon. Now imagine if it had been a massive 7 Richter/IX Merkali quake; we'd be looking at total chaos for days or weeks. People would be pulling guns at grocery stores and gas stations just trying to get out of the city.

Handing over a few dirty bills to a cashier is a small price to pay. You don't have to lick them or anything.

Michelle Bennett5 said:Hey, newsflash: banks charge a FEE for every swipe through a card reader.
Around 2-3%.

Supposedly, that fee comes out of the merchant's pocket, right?
BUT!!!!!
The seller obviously just builds that cost right into the price tag, so you're actually the one footing the bill!

And like I said, those "interest-free" installments aren't really free—all those extra costs are baked into the monthly payment from day one.

Paying with straight-up Cash is the only way to get the actual lowest price.
(Not that the big banks and their little minions will ever admit that.)

Just so we're clear, if you want to avoid confusion about using Cash, getting an official receipt is 100% fine.

Man, back in the day it used to be like 10 to 15%! Merchants would try to get around it by offering cash discounts to match the savings, but the credit card companies stepped in and flat-out banned that kind of thing if they wanted to keep their processing privileges.

I don't get it. It makes zero sense. Just four months ago, because of some loan stuff, I had to sign paperwork to drop my overdraft limit from $9,700 down to $667. No big deal, right? Now they’re saying they’re scrapping everything. As of the 1st, it looks like my interest-based overdraft automatically jumped to 8.12%, and on top of that, there's this other amount for installment payments.
All I really have is my Chase Visa, which isn't much. It's literally just the one single account where all my money goes in and out...

Stop making things up. I walk into Walmart and buy some deli meat. The price stays exactly the same whether I swipe my card through FedEx or pay with cash—where on earth are you getting this idea that there’s a price difference?
Online, the price for a one-time payment is identical to cash on delivery. I have yet to see a single instance where paying via COD was actually cheaper. If that ever happens, I’ll be sure to take advantage of it.

And it isn't true that paying by card is slower either. Stop inventing nonsense, people. The only way it takes longer is if someone stands there counting every single cent, checking their change, and tucking it away in their wallet... by then, I’d already be back in my car.

As for all this tracking talk... please. These companies already have so much data on us that whether or not I bought a dildo is absolutely nobody's business.

melloweagle28 said:Stop making things up. I walk into Walmart and buy some deli meat. The price stays exactly the same whether I swipe my card through FedEx or pay with cash—where on earth are you getting this idea that there’s a price difference?
Online, the price for a one-time payment is identical to cash on delivery. I have yet to see a single instance where paying via COD was actually cheaper. If that ever happens, I’ll be sure to take advantage of it.

And it isn't true that paying by card is slower either. Stop inventing nonsense, people. The only way it takes longer is if someone stands there counting every single cent, checking their change, and tucking it away in their wallet... by then, I’d already be back in my car.

As for all this tracking talk... please. These companies already have so much data on us that whether or not I bought a dildo is absolutely nobody's business.

Wrong. Seriously, go talk to any business owner if you don't believe me. You’ve got transaction fees going to the FedEx provider, then there's equipment maintenance, connection fees, plus what the bank charges for the account, etc. Add in all the tax compliance stuff, the high-speed data links, the security certificates for everything, software updates, or even buying new registers... it adds up fast. A few small shops have actually gone under because of it.

With cash, you just gotta count it up every day and drop it off at the bank. And man, I've seen it happen so many times—some lady tries to deposit her daily sales at an ATM and the machine just rejects her card, or she goes to the teller and they won't let her deposit business cash into a personal account, even though it's basically the same money. It's ridiculous.

Quincy:

Online, the price for paying upfront is the same as cash on delivery. I haven't seen a single case where COD was cheaper. If it ever happens, I'll take it.

Paying online includes shipping, which is an extra cost. And with a lot of companies, you still have to drive down to their store or warehouse to pick up your stuff after you pay because they won't even touch cash.

Quincy:

It's also not true that card payments are slower. Stop lying, people. The only way it's slow is when someone starts counting out coins, realizes they're short, checks their change, stuffs it in their wallet... by then, I could've already driven away. And as for the tracking thing... please. These companies already have so much data on us that nobody actually cares if I bought a dildo or not.

I'd bet my life on the speed factor. I can breeze through a checkout with cash way faster than most people with cards. People always remember they need a pack of cigarettes at the last second, too, and of course, they always ask for the one brand the clerk doesn't even stock.

melloweagle28 said:Stop making things up. I walk into Walmart and buy some deli meat. The price stays exactly the same whether I swipe my card through FedEx or pay with cash—where on earth are you getting this idea that there’s a price difference?
Online, the price for a one-time payment is identical to cash on delivery. I have yet to see a single instance where paying via COD was actually cheaper. If that ever happens, I’ll be sure to take advantage of it.

And it isn't true that paying by card is slower either. Stop inventing nonsense, people. The only way it takes longer is if someone stands there counting every single cent, checking their change, and tucking it away in their wallet... by then, I’d already be back in my car.

As for all this tracking talk... please. These companies already have so much data on us that whether or not I bought a dildo is absolutely nobody's business.

korekt

The merchant is getting hit with a 2-3% fee just for using their Square terminal. And get this—the American Express transaction was pushing close to 10%...

Even with cash, everything has to go through a private security firm now. They’re charging $100 plus fees for overnight vault storage, then there's the cost for making change, depositing it at Chase, and all these other little extra bites...

But here's what really gets me: how is it possible that despite all this, they keep bumping up my overdraft limit without me even asking? Like, they phase out one thing, then quietly slide in this unrequested credit line... just so they can eventually shove a loan down my throat at a 5-7% interest rate.

Sure, I'll be the one to blame if I actually end up using that overdraft, but at the end of the day, the bank wins either way. And honestly, it'll be a real treat when they decide to make me sit through a whole formal notarization process for the loan agreement...

Olivia Davis8 said:The merchant is getting hit with a 2-3% fee just for using their Square terminal. And get this—the American Express transaction was pushing close to 10%...

Even with cash, everything has to go through a private security firm now. They’re charging $100 plus fees for overnight vault storage, then there's the cost for making change, depositing it at Chase, and all these other little extra bites...

But here's what really gets me: how is it possible that despite all this, they keep bumping up my overdraft limit without me even asking? Like, they phase out one thing, then quietly slide in this unrequested credit line... just so they can eventually shove a loan down my throat at a 5-7% interest rate.

Sure, I'll be the one to blame if I actually end up using that overdraft, but at the end of the day, the bank wins either way. And honestly, it'll be a real treat when they decide to make me sit through a whole formal notarization process for the loan agreement...

It’s not even a hurdle; you can grab $120 through the app in three clicks $0.00 without needing any legal formalities. It’s practically tailor-made for gamblers who need quick cash before they hit the jackpot at the casino.

So, looking at my numbers, I’ve got some wiggle room on the overdraft, sitting at an 8.41% interest rate.

Basically, an unarranged overdraft is just the amount of cash the bank lets you tap into through your checking account. You can use those funds as a standard overdraft or apply them toward a First installment plan.