How bank closings impact the poor

A New York Times article this week sheds light on how closing brick and mortar bank locations hurts the neighborhoods they leave behind. According to the article,

In 2010, for the first time in 15 years, more bank branches closed than opened across the United States. An analysis of government data shows, however, that even as banks shut branches in poorer areas, they continued to expand in wealthier ones, despite decades of government regulations requiring financial institutions to meet the credit needs of poor and middle-class neighborhoods.

The gap in financial services is then sometimes filled by check cashers and predatory lenders. For folks who have internet access and understand online banking, there's little impact. For small businesses and the people who rely on the security of a local bank, it's more than an inconvenience.

Limiting debit card use will hurt consumers - Directo paycards are the best low cost alternative

The New York Post reports that several banks, including Bank of America, Chase, and Citi, are thinking about limiting debit card use to under $50 per transaction in order to make up for vanishing interchange fees. According to author Mark DeCambre:

The limits being contemplated would be imposed on debit-card holders regardless of how much money they held in their checking accounts and are likely to push customers to use credit cards to cover the difference.

"There's a real irony here that just as consumers are practicing greater levels of thrift through their debit cards, they might be presented with increased cost and a higher degree of uncertainty," said Doug Johnson, vice president at the American Banker's Association.

Directo paycards have a default Point of Sale daily limit of $510, the amount seems to be the sweet spot for most spending, allowing for the purchase of money orders, or to gas up, pay some bills and get the groceries. Account owners can raise the amount for free with a call to Customer Care, useful if you need to make a large purchase, such as a TV or kitchen appliance.

Read the article.

Attacked for her tax refund cash? She needed a Directo paycard!

This week, a woman in the metro Atlanta area cashed her $4000 tax refund check at WalMart, and was then attacked in the parking lot by someone who must have seen her flash that cash. Her little girl witnessed the thief beating her mother. The perpetrator was caught, but the woman was hurt and her child were traumatized. Direct deposit of that refund check would have gone straight to her bank or her Directo paycard account, and the transaction would have been safe, private, and deposited much faster, too.

Thieves are watching. Where do your employees cash their checks?

Read the original story here.

Second storm impacts payroll delivery

Snow just about covers car windows in the Northeast, and planes are stuck on runways. If your payroll is frozen in place somewhere short of its destination, your alternative is a phone call away. With Direct paycards you can weatherproof your payroll delivery and at no cost to you. After the payroll file is sent to the bank electronically, Directo paycard accounts are funded on the designated pay date, and your workers receive their pay no matter where they are. Funds can be accessed from ATMs and the cards can be used at cash register's PIN keypads with swipe-and-go ease.

Call today. Start your paycard program before the next big storm hits.

Contact Adam Roche at 770-810-6530

Michigan Direct Deposit Mandate Law Passes

Michigan labor law now allows for mandate of direct deposit, which will allow business owners to save big on payroll production and distribution, as well as eliminate the risk of check fraud.

Read an attorney's overview of the law here: http://bit.ly/h2DeCz

Now more than ever, Directo paycards make sense in Michigan. Unbanked workers will benefit, and so will the growing number of Americans disenchanted with their banks. Learn more at www.directocard.com.

Publish Post

No Free checking + Job cuts = Poor Service and Higher Fees. Time for a Directo account!

Job cuts at banks means even less service to go along with the increase fees we've already seen. Directo is the low-cost choice that allows you (and if you're a business manager or owner, your employees) to bank when and where you want to bank, and with FREE bilingual customer service.

From today's PaymentsSource.com newsletter:

What do Wells Fargo, American Express, PNC, Fifth Third and Synovus have in common? They've all announced job cuts this week. The Wall Street Journal said analysts expect banks to reduce operating costs by as much as 20% over the next few years "as they struggle to put their bad loans behind them, adjust to a raft of costly regulations and increase revenue in challenging economic conditions."

Need to know more about Directo? Visit us at www.directocard.com.

Bank of America dumps free accounts , too.

Just as we predicted, the banks have started eliminating free checking. Bank of America's lowest-cost account will now be almost $9 a month for the basic service. Georgia is one of the test markets for the accounts. Read the whole article here: Bank of America revamping accounts, fees | ajc.com

Directo paycards continue to be the high-value, low cost alternative, and not just for the unbanked. Simple to implement and easy for cardholders to use, Directo paycard programs cost the employer nothing, yet offer the best of banking to our customers. Learn more at www.directocard.com.