Keep The Change, We'll Do It Ourselves

The Occupation Movement swept the globe this past Saturday with over 1500 cities joining in. From New York, to Spain, to Rome, to Australia and to Tokyo (and all the places in between) demonstrations of a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of people fed up with being stomped into the ground.

In New York, a small group of protesters went into Citi Bank to close their accounts. It ended with the arrest of 25 people.




Today, October 17, Occupiers urge everyone to make the switch from banks to credit unions. The idea is to keep your money out of the hands of greedy shareholders and into a local CU where it can benefit community growth. Many big banks, like Citi and Well Fargo, are beginning to charge customers for using their debit cards. Find out why here.

If you're interested in making the switch, you can start here to find your local CU.

For grins and giggles, as I was preparing this entry, I decided to inquire about a basic checking account at Citi. Here is the result:

Welcome
A Citi representative will help you in approximately 0 minutes 1 seconds.
For your protection, we'll never ask you for passwords, PINs, User IDs, security words or any part of your social security number during a chat. Other information may be required to help us verify your identity.

You are now chatting with 'Gloria' from Citibank, N.A.

Gloria: Welcome to Citibank Online Chat, my name is Gloria. How may I assist you today?

You: Hello. I was just wondering about the new fee for using a debit card. Why do customers have to pay to use it?

Gloria: Do you have a Citibank account?

You: No, but I was considering switching banks and was doing some research.

Gloria: Great! Citibank does not have a fee for using your debit card.

Gloria: Were you inquiring about a checking and savings account?

You: Just a checking. Could you give me some information on the various checking accounts offered by Citi?

Gloria: I can send you a link. Hold please.

[*It took her 5 min. to get a link I had already looked at*]

Gloria: please click here.

Gloria: Did you have any additional questions that I may address?

Gloria: Your satisfaction is my priority. Have I completely resolved your inquiry today?

You: I recently read an article in the New York Times that it has become a little more difficult to qualify for a basic checking account. What exactly are the qualifications?

Gloria: For a Basic checking account there is an $8.00 fee unless you complete 5 or more qualifying transactions such as direct deposit, checks paid, ATM withdrawals, bill payments or ACH payments.

Gloria: However, starting with the November statement, the monthly fee will be $10.00 unless you keep a minimum balance of $1,500.00 or one direct deposit.

You: That seems kind of expensive for a basic account.

Gloria: Again, if you have one direct deposit and one bill payment, you do not have to meet the minimum balance.

You: Ah ok. Well, I don't think I have any more questions at the moment. Thank you for taking the time to help me.

Gloria: You are welcomed.

Gloria: It was nice chatting with you today. Please complete a quick survey by selecting 'End Chat' in the top, right corner of this window. Thank you for considering banking at Citibank. Have a great day. Goodbye.

Yes, I did take the survey. I scored them low and in the comment box I entered, "I am the 99%" and then clicked submit.