Why Do We Pay Bank Service Charges for Self-Serve?

It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.
Henry Ford

I don’t know about you but bank service charges drive me nuts. They nickel and dime us to death for everything that we do. But, what really infuriates me is when banks have the nerve to charge transaction fees for self-service. ATMs are a perfect example. If you use another financial institution’s ATM you get charged twice; once at the bank machine and again from your own bank. Yet, with so many people doing self-service banking at ATMs, financial institutions are able to reduce the number of tellers in branches. So we’re actually being charged for saving the banks money. Isn't that a concept!

Another pet peeve is the service charge to send money by email. It’s a terrific convenience but again it comes with a fee – typically $1.50 per transaction. Shouldn’t the bank reward us for not coming into the bank and taking up a teller’s time to buy a money order, or using cheques which they would have to process? Instead we're being punished and charged a fee for another self-service act.  

Bank services charges defy logic and they’re nothing more than a cash grab. Although banks may differ slightly in service charges and their amounts, at the end of the day no matter where you bank, you’re going to get screwed.

Heard you went below your minimum balance. So we charged you a fee for not having any money, then charged you another fee for not having any money to pay the fee we charge you for not having any money.

Uber Humor

Make someone smile today.

Geri