Unhappy with the prospect of paying higher bank fees, Kristen Christian, a 27-year-old art gallery owner from Los Angeles, did more than complain to her 500 friends on Facebook. She organized a Facebook event for Saturday, Nov. 5. She called it Bank Transfer Day and urged people to move their money from large private banks to credit unions or somewhere else closer to home.
By Friday afternoon, more than 78,000 people had signed up to join her effort, which has gained worldwide attention and has been embraced by the Occupy Wall Street movement.
On a new Facebook page called Bank Transfer Day, Ms. Christian, while acknowledging Occupy Wall Street’s enthusiasm for her idea, said the movement did not inspire her nor did it help her organize the campaign.
Protestors involved in the Occupy Movement have certainly helped spread the word, though. For more than a week, they have been urging supporters on their hundreds of Facebook and Twitter accounts across the country to join the effort and to also attend protests scheduled on Saturday outside some banks.
Ms. Christian said on Facebook that she was humbled by the huge response she had received for her idea, which was generated a few weeks ago.
“I believe that every dollar has the opportunity to make a difference on the local level in a banking structure that serves the community,” she said. “I work hard and live within my means. I am tired of funding the lavish lifestyles of a select few when I could be helping to create growth in my own local community.”
According to a new survey by the Credit Union National Association, more than 650,000 accounts have been opened at credit unions since Bank of America first announced a fee for debit cards on Sept. 29. Responding to an outpouring of complaints from customers, Bank of America said this week it was dropping its plan to charge a $5 fee for using debit cards for purchases.
Some credit unions are using Bank Transfer Day to attract even more new customers. On Long Island, three credit unions joined together and created a new Web site, Better Banking for Long Island, so that people could more easily find their offers for free checking accounts.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0cbbadcc59c7be113b7cd185d8653857
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