During this recession, it seems like everyone is taking a financial hit – expect for the big banks. In fact, when they got themselves into a pickle, the government bailed them out. So why the recent trend of charging bank customers fees to use their debit cards? The banks are saying it is because of a recent law change limiting what they can charge retailers per transaction. Looking to re-coup some of those lost profits, the banks are putting the burden back on their customers.
Fed up banking customers are now wondering what other options they may have when it comes to get the free checking accounts they are used to. The general public is still bitter about the government banking bail-out. The fact that the banks now want more money is not going to sit well with others. A surprising option for people who mistrust the banks may be a car insurance company.
State Farm has been offering banking services since 1998. However, the general public has finally caught on to what the car insurance firm is selling as an alternative to ridiculous monthly banking fees. Here are some of the services State Farm Banking is offering besides cheap auto insurance quotes from their website:
Free Debit Cards – Instead of looking at charging customers to use their debit card, State Farm has announced their debit cards will continue to have no monthly fees or minimum purchase requirements.
Free Checking Accounts – Many banks are requiring conditions to their free checking, making free checking accounts more difficult to acquire. State Farm Banking still offers accounts with no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements.
ATM Rebates – While many banks were using this tactic to draw in customers a couple of years ago, now this option is harder to find. State Farm customers enjoy ATM rebates both domestic and international.
Mobile Banking – State Farm also has a mobile banking option, called Pocket Agent, that is also free. Customers will need a scanner and to download the mobile app in order to scan in their deposits, or they can mail them in.
Next year, State Farm Bank will be offering switch kits to customers that are designed to make it simple to transfer a customer’s bill pay information from a traditional bank to State Farm. The car insurance company sees an opportunity to acquire a dissatisfied customer base from banking competition and is working to seize the moment.
The opportunity may have a short window as banking customers become more frustrated. Bank of America has recently reversed its decision to charge a $5 debit card fee based on a customer petition with over 300,000 signatures. The company has stated it has no plans to reinstate the fee in the future. This may mean that State Farm has a limited window to seize as many disgruntled banking customers it can. If other banks follow the lead of Bank of America and reserve the new banking fees, most customers will probably stay with their current banks instead of going through all the trouble to close an account with one company and open a new one with State Farm.
State Farm, with all its affiliates included, is the largest car insurance provider in the country. The company does not only offer affordable auto quotes, they provide service to over 80 million different policies including life, health, and home insurance. State Farm Bank already has almost 2 million banking accounts. The company also provides insurance for commercial and rental customers.
State Farm is not the only auto insurance company that offers banking. Competitors like Nationwide also offer banking. On the flip side, large banking institutions, like Wells Fargo, also offer insurance.