Vent: That banker from Omaha made me rethink my whole fee schedule

Had a coffee with a credit union VP last month who said charging $35 overdraft fees is just punishing poor people for being poor, and it hit different because she showed me their numbers - they cut fees by 60% and actually gained customers. Has anyone else seen fee changes backfire or work out in unexpected ways?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyk267d ago

The credit union VP's numbers are interesting but what did the customer retention look like after the fee cuts? Were people who overdrafted regularly actually sticking around longer or did they just stop overdrawing entirely? Because I could see a scenario where cutting fees just means people who were already good with money feel better about the bank but the folks who really needed the break just keep cycling through the same problem. Like if someone is overdrafting every month before payday, a lower fee still means they're losing money they don't have, just less of it.

danielnelson7d ago

Did the report break down retention by how often people overdrafted? In my experience, someone hitting that negative once or twice a month is just trying to stretch paychecks, and a smaller fee still stings enough that they'll leave the first chance they get. The real win for the credit union was probably keeping the folks who only overdrafted by accident that one time and just felt better about the place.

markh857d ago

Wish my landscaping company had that problem, clients just stop showing up lol.