Banks were really hit by the CARD ACt. If you watched your TV News streams last month, the CARD Act results borne out with BofA publishing its new card statements to the press. These statement show now that for an average $3000 balance outstanding on your cardd, the minimum revolver payment will take you 10 years to repay. Similarily another box shows that if you wanted it repaid in 3 years you have to shell out $300 or some such helluva number right there on the statement.
The banks have ofcourse used the sobering effect on consumers to mop up $38 million in overdraft fees from the consumers BofA customers have been complaining all year and Wells Fargo, an old hand would be still going on with its old ways. For a global traveler used to simpler processes that deny your transaction and let you check your balance without too many charges, this comes as a rude shock as well. I commiserate with the americans that need these banks and their retail accounts. Here is the European Banking Industry’s expansionory diversion that was temporarili put on hold in 2008/ 2009.
ING Direct is now being touted as
..the Southwest Airlines of the banking industry. It’s got low fees, dynamic employees who tweet often, thousands of devoted fans on Facebook and cool places to hang out. And it’s zigging in another area where other banks are now zagging: overdraft coverage
The Deutsche Bank / Bankers Trust combine failed where ING much like a TESCO, caused marketing and banking visionaries like us to put Retail Financial Supermarkets and Direct online banks with no offline real offices and branches into the picture of the future of banking.
The ING Direct model does offer hope to those who want to live without the clutter of paper, but is inherently a direct target for the FED or any other Oversight Council that might supercede its powers and FDIC gets an easy target. But, ING has worked hard with the setting up and with the regulators positioning it alongside other online offerings like Air tickets, Groceries, UPS and books..can I also get a driving licence online 
ING, however, sees the transition and customer confusion as an opportunity to market its terms. “We think that with the new regulations and things like banks pressuring customers to opt-in for overdraft coverage, that the market is really coming to us,” said Todd Sandler, ING Direct head of product strategy. “We’ve seen a real shift, even in just in the past 45 to 60 days … our business is up 70% to 80%.”
