Two of the country’s largest banks scored well on a ranking of the consumer-friendliness of their checking accounts, but no bank met all of the recommended criteria, a new analysis found.
The report, from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Checking in the Electronic Age project, assessed 36 of the country’s largest 50 banks, ranked by deposits, on their policies for clear disclosure of terms and fees; overdrafts; and dispute resolution. (Fourteen of the country’s 50 largest banks were not included because they didn’t offer a way for consumers to learn about their policies without visiting a bank branch).
Pew defines “best” practices as those that are most effective in giving account holders clear, concise information about costs and terms; reducing the number of overdrafts, and eliminating practices — like transaction re-ordering – -that maximize overdraft fees; and providing a meaningful alternative to mandatory binding arbitration for consumers to solve problems with their bank.
The report identified seven “best” practices and 11 “good” practices. For instance, Pew’s “best” practice for disclosures is the adoption of a simple “summary box” or a page that lays out the basic terms and fees associated with the account in simple language. Eight banks meet this criteria, Pew found. (Pew has worked with banks to help them design the simplified disclosures).
The top-ranked bank overall was Ally Bank, an online-only bank that met six of the seven “best” practices identified by Pew, and nine of 11 “good” practices.”
Two of the biggest banks, Citibank and Bank of America, ranked in the top five over all, with five “best” practices each. [Read more…]
Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/banks-lag-on-consumer-friendly-checking-practices/?partner=rss&emc=rss
