Project News
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- Press Release
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
More Than Half of Top 12 U.S. Banks Now Use Pew’s Model Checking Disclosures
SunTrust voluntarily adopted The Pew Charitable Trusts’ disclosure summary for checking accounts today, becoming the seventh of the 12 largest banks in the country now using the simple disclosure box. Currently, this consumer-friendly information is available to over 40 percent of the US market, by deposit volume. more
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December 3, 2012
Paying for the Holidays
As the holiday shopping season takes off, consumers are turning to a variety of financial management tools. View our slideshow and learn more about Pew’s research on hidden bank fees, the growing use of prepaid debit cards, and the actual duration of payday loans that are marketed as two-week products.
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- Press Release
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Pew Report: Most Banks Limit Consumer Options for Dispute Resolution in Checking Accounts
The Pew Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project today released Banking on Arbitration: Big Banks, Consumers, and Checking Account Dispute Resolution, a report that examines the 100 largest financial institutions’ dispute resolution clauses as well as consumer attitudes about these procedures. more
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- Press Release
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Five of the Top 12 Biggest Banks Adopt Pew’s Consumer-Friendly Summary of Checking Terms & Fees
Bank of America is among the latest banks to announce they will voluntarily adopt Pew’s disclosure summary for checking accounts. With these additions, five of the top 12 banks in America—representing over one-quarter (27 percent) of total deposit volume in the country—have adopted Pew’s recommendation.
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August 24, 2012
Safe Checking: Policy Recommendations
Checking accounts are critical to the financial well-being of American families, but many bear hidden risks. Susan Weinstock, director of the Safe Checking in the Electronic Age project, offers four policy recommendations to make accounts more transparent and fair for consumers. more
Media Coverage
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- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Today Show: Lawmakers Target 'Unfair' Overdraft Charges
Congress will get another chance to limit checking account overdraft fees that continue to annoy customers and produce billions of dollars in revenue each year for banks and credit unions. more
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- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Fox Business: Why You Are Charged Hefty Bank Fees
No one likes bank fees. So why do banks charge them, taking the risk of alienating their customers? more
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- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Wall Street Journal: Bank Fees—What Are They Good For?
From mandatory-arbitration clauses that waive jury trials to fees on empty envelopes and cash deposits, your bank is keeping disclosures tied to your checking accounts heavily cloaked in fine print and sometimes not in any print at all. more
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- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Sorry, But You Probably Can’t Sue Your Bank
For better or worse, Americans tend to take it as an article of faith that if someone does you wrong, you can sue. But banks are quietly adding language to their account terms and services that take away your right to a day in court, and the law is on their side. more
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- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Bankrate.com: Beat the Bank in Mandatory Arbitration?
Just say "mandatory arbitration" a couple of times. It may make you feel a little drowsy. But if you ever find yourself in a dispute with your bank or other financial services provider, those two words could determine your chances of successfully resolving it. more
