Bank of America announced the expansion of requirements for its SafeBalance settlement account plan.
With the help of this account, which one of the largest American lenders introduced in 2014, the bank’s customers have the opportunity to carry out the process of managing their financial resources and at the same time are not required to pay an overdraft fee. Last Wednesday, September 13, the financial institution announced that from November, account holders whose minimum daily balance is from $500 will not be in the group of consumers who are subject to the requirement to make a mandatory monthly fee of $4.95.
Also, as part of the corporate policy change, the bank will introduce the practice of withdrawing commission from the accounts of clients who are less than 25 years old. In this case, the balance amount is not a factor on which the implementation of the new decision of the financial institution depends. The innovation, which is not a positive change for consumers, will affect all clients of a financial institution younger than 25 years.
The bank said that the number of SafeBalance accounts this year has surpassed the landmark mark of 5 million units. Also, the financial institution has published information according to which more than 50% of new current accounts are associated with the mentioned program. The total number of accounts registered with one of the largest banks in the United States has grown by more than 35% over the past year.
Mary Hines Droesch, Head of Consumer and Small Business Products at Bank of America says that a new milestone in the lender’s history, manifested in a change in corporate policy regarding consumer service, reflects a commitment to providing customers with simple and transparent solutions at every stage of their financial journey and helping them achieve material well-being.
The bank has introduced new consumer offerings amid reports that in the United States, 20% of financial institution customers exceeded their accounts last year as part of the fight against inflationary realities, which manifested itself in linking cash flows with monthly bills and daily expenses.
Also, industry studies show that US citizens who live in a financial regime, conventionally designated as paycheck to paycheck, are six times more likely to use overdrafts. Also, 39% of them face a reduction in transactions.
The findings of the mentioned studies also contain a statement that millennials and credit marginals, those who were denied funds at least once last year, most likely tried to make transactions without having sufficient funds.
Overdraft fees are a circumstance that aggravates the financial problems of consumers. According to the results of a special study, it was found that in the United States, 62% of bank customers who tried to make a transaction without having sufficient funds faced an overdraft fee. At the same time, some consumers have incurred a combination of a fixed fee and an interest fee.
Banks such as Citi and Bank of America have abandoned overdrafts as sources of income. At the same time, some creditors, including Truist, decided to implement the structure of accounts as a buffer against overspending.
As we have reported earlier, Bank of America Announces Expansion to Its Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card.
