Since the 2008 financial crisis, has the interest rate on your credit card increased; has the interest rate on your savings account and interest-bearing checking account decreased; are you now paying fees for transactions and services that were once available to you at no additional cost?
I suspect you can probably answer “yes” to one if not all of the above questions. This trend is an unexpected (?) consequence of the financial reform brought about in response to and as a result of the financial crisis. The fees banks used to be able to charge you but can no longer have sliced their profits significantly and the “loss” revenue has to be made up somewhere. But the approach many banks are taking (i.e., charging you to use your debit card) is altering the relationship dynamic with its retail customers, leaving some consumers pissed about the nick-picking and wondering: “What else can I do?” (Continue Reading…)
