Many banks are experimenting with, or instituting additional fees for the use of debit cards for purchases. Eastern Michigan University’s EagleOne Card is not exempting students from additional fees for its debit purchases, but it is not adding a so-called “swipe fee” which recently made news.
The EagleOne card, which is EMU’s version of the Higher One Card, has more fees than many students realize. If one uses it as a debit card for a purchase, for example, there is a 50-cent fee for that purchase.
According to the Higher One website, 50-cent fees are charged if the buyer selects “debit” after entering the Personal Identification Number or a merchant processes the transaction as a PIN-less debit transaction even if the PIN is not provided.
A representative at the EMU Student Business Services Office said EagleOne, a type of MasterCard, will not impose additional fees.
“No fees—never,” the representative said.
Knowing that, students are communicating positive responses.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I have a bank account already and I automatically have to get another account when I sign up [for the EagleOne Card],” Briyuanna Dobbs said.
She went on to say if there were other fees associated with the EagleOne card, she would “stop using it.”
Chase Bank has tested a $3 fee in select markets but repealed it due to poor response, according to a personal banker at a Chase branch.
Bank of America, on the other hand, announced recently they would start charging a $3 monthly fee for using its debit cards. This is gaining negative feedback around campus.
“[Bank of America is] doing a good job of alienating their customers,” Student Body President Jelani McGadney said.
In Bank of America’s defense, the company is only charging fees for transactions made in the same month the debit card was used for purchases; ATM use is still left without new fees.
Bank of America has said new government regulations, such as a cap on the amount banks, can charge retailers each time a debit card is swiped, have eaten into its profit margins.
President Barack Obama said in an ABCnews.com interview, “You don’t have some inherent right just to, you know, get a certain amount of profit, if your customers are being mistreated … this is exactly the sort of stuff that folks are frustrated by.”
Student Durell Carter expressed his feelings about the fees.
“No fees are fun,” Carter said. “That’s why I went to Chase [Bank]. I have a Bank of America account, but I really don’t use
it.”
Bank of America explained the debit fee was necessary after the loss suffered from the Durbin Amendment. And as a publicly traded company, it has a right and responsibility to create profit for its investors, according to the Associated Press.
The Durbin Amendment is an adjustment to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was named after Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and was enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress.
The Consumer Protection Act was designed to protect American citizens from being taken advantage of by large corporations.
Though it is consumer responsibility to know the fee schedule of their financial institution including credit cards, some banks make their fees easier to locate than others.
TCF Bank’s student account explanation has a list of fees and rules that could prove difficult to understand if you are not familiar with bank vernacular. PNC Bank’s website prominently displays its signature product: Totally Free Checking. Through investigation, a fee was not found.
Most banking websites offer not only the Federally Mandated schedule of fees, but also many tools with which students and non-student customers can manage their money and avoid fees.
Visit https://emueagleone.higheroneaccount.com/studentaccount/feeschedules.do to see the full list of fees for your Higher One Card and learn how to avoid some of the fees.
