Free Checking Information - An Independent Website

Feb. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- A new website has been launched that is dedicated to the gathering and sharing of information about the free checking account.  It can be accessed at http://FreeCheckingInformation.com  This is an independent site.  It is not owned or maintained by any bank or credit union or third-party vendor serving the financial services industry.

The idea for this site is the result of the backers reading too many articles predicting the end of free checking for millions of consumers across the country.  In almost every article, the reader discovers that it’s primarily the four big mega-banks that are responsible for eliminating free checking by adding fees and minimum balance requirements.  To read these articles one would come to the conclusion that the future of free checking looks dismal.

But, in reality free checking is alive and well, particularly at the thousands of community banks and credit unions around the country.  It’s also being marketed by the online banks like Ally Bank, ING Direct, and USAA.

The mega-banks are citing new regulatory requirements and loss of fee income from recent legislation as the reasons behind dumping free checking and adding new fees while increasing existing fees.  Never once is there any mention of the massive costs of their expensive branch networks which they are allocating to their checking accounts.

Yet, over the past 10+ years these banks have basically used emerging technologies to drive checking customers out of the branch to ATMs and online to reduce the cost of serving them in the branch.  So, while a majority of checking customers no longer uses these expensive branches, the mega-banks are busy charging them for these branches via higher fees and balance requirements.

Because of the mega-banks market share and huge marketing and PR budgets, they are able to control the media stories about free checking.  As a result, only their side of the story is being told.

Yet, these same big banks were late comers to free checking which dates back to 1982 when it was first aggressively marketed by community banks across the country.  It wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s when the mega-banks jumped aboard the free checking train.

The backers of this site hope it serves as an information resource on free checking for those in the media covering the banking industry and writing these free checking stories.  It will also serve as a valuable resource for the many banks and credit unions currently offering free checking and needing assurance that it remains the checking account of choice for a majority of banking customers.

Bottom line, it’s a one-stop site for quick access to all the recent articles about free checking appearing in the media as well as original articles on free checking written specifically for site visitors.

Information about this press release and website should be directed to info@freecheckinginformation.com

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An independent site not owned or maintained by any bank or credit union or third-party vendor serving the financial services industry. - http://FreeCheckingInformation.com