Project News
-
- Press Release
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Eight of Top 12 U.S. Banks Adopt Pew’s Model Checking Account Disclosure Box
Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T), the ninth largest bank by deposit volume in the United States, voluntarily adopted The Pew Charitable Trusts’ disclosure summary for checking accounts today, bringing the total number of large banks that now use this easy tool to eight.
more -
June 1, 2013
Reuters: Regulatory Failure Du Jour, Overdraft Fee Edition
A study last year from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that “more than half of those hit with overdraft fees did not believe they had opted in to the policies”.
more -
- Press Release
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Pew Releases Ratings of Nation’s Top Banks on Key Consumer Protections
A study from The Pew Charitable Trusts is the first to rate the largest U.S. banks on their policies regarding checking account disclosure terms and fees, overdraft, and dispute resolution practices. Checks and Balances: Measuring Checking Accounts’ Safety and Transparency, underscores the continued gaps in banking procedures that put consumers at financial risk and expose them to high, unexpected costs for little benefit.
more -
- 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
-
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.
more
Media Coverage
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Eastman Credit Union recognized by Pew Charitable Trusts
Eastman Credit Union was recognized by the Pew Charitable Trusts for voluntarily adopting Pew’s model disclosure for ECU’s Beyond Free Checking Account, which makes terms and fees transparent and easier for members to understand. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Nine U.S. Banks Said to be Examined on Overdraft Fees(2)
Two years after regulators gave Americans more power to manage overdrafts of their checking accounts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reviewing bank practices to determine if the crackdown went far enough. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Second Big Bank, TD Bank, Simplifies Checking Disclosures
Another big bank has joined the “simple checking disclosure” movement advocated by an arm of the nonprofit group Pew Charitable Trusts. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Prepaid Debit Cards: The Lesser of Two Evils?
We don’t like the fees, but we like banks even less—and trust providers of prepaid cards more than we trust mainstream banks. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
A Look at Why Consumers Are Using Prepaid Debit Cards
It’s clear that prepaid debit cards — cards that you load with cash, spend down and then reload — are hot. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Fees for Closing Accounts Draw Attention
Many banks across the country, including several in Massachusetts, are charging customers if they close a checking or savings account within several months of opening it. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Overdraft Settlements Cost Banks A Small Fraction Of What's Netted In Fees
When compared with the billions of dollars big banks have rung up in overdraft fees over the last decade, recent settlements with customers over unfair overdraft charges have amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist. No different is JPMorgan Chase's tentative agreement, first reported Monday, to settle for $110 million a consumer case charging that it routinely reordered checking account transactions. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
We Paid Almost $30 Billion in Overdraft Fees in 2011
At many banks, customers were automatically—often unwittingly—enrolled in overdraft programs that would permit debit purchases to go through even if it would overdraw their account, to the tune of up to $35 a pop. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Some Thoughts for the Shopping Season
The big banks canceled plans for new debit card fees after their customers rebelled and members of Congress objected. But if Americans think their debit card problems are over, they’re wrong. more
-
- Media Coverage
- Safe Checking in the Electronic Age
Clearer Bank Account Terms
Consumer advocates are rightly pressuring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to require banks to disclose important terms on checking accounts like the monthly fee in easy-to-understand forms. more
