News

ATM-focused BofA eBanking program ends amid protest

January 24, 2018

On Jan.19, Bank of America completed the final phaseout of its eBanking account, and at least 46,000 of the bank's customers and like-minded supporters are really not happy about it, according to a report by the Charlotte Observer.

BofA introduced eBanking in 2010 as a fee-free option for customers who did not maintain a minimum monthly balance. To waive the $8.95 fee, eBanking customers agreed to forgo a printed statement and use the bank's network of ATMs rather than tellers for their deposits and withdrawals.

Those customers have now been transferred to a BofA core checking account that costs them $12 monthly unless they carry a daily balance of $1,500 in the account or use direct deposit.

Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Riess told the Observer that the $250 monthly direct deposit minimum is one of the lowest in the industry.

That hasn't stopped a petition on Change.org from toting up more than 46,200 protestor signatures within three weeks. As one petitioner commented:

Low income families and seniors utilize this service specifically in order to make their few pennies stretch further," one petition-signer wrote in the comments section. Bank of America can well afford to provide these customers with free checking accounts and themselves with goodwill.

The report said that during a recent quarterly earnings call BofA Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio emphasized that the FI's most-desired customers are "prime" and "super prime" borrowers with credit scores of 760 or better.