Social Security Customers, Beware Bank Personnel Loans
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010Social Security recipients – particularly those who depend entirely on it – do not need everyone skimming off the top. This is why there’s word in government that paper Social Security checks should be routed out. The Treasury has plans to phase the checks out by 2013 and send funds via direct deposit and prepaid debit cards, writes The Wall Street Journal. Doing so will ideally make benefit distribution more secure and conserve the taxpayers’ money. But according to numerous consumer groups, this will open the door for big banks like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp to aggressively market choice cash advance-style loans to their Social Security customers.
Fixed income guests are the target of bank marketing
According to the National Consumer Law Center, these new cash advance-like products are drawn from customers’ Social Security benefits as collateral. These personal loans can be requested from the bank via telephone or online. When the customer’s following Social Security benefits payment hits their account via direct deposit, the bank gets its money before the consumer can spend it. If the loan is not paid in full within 35 days, the bank automatically withdraws the amount owed, frequently producing overdraft and a morass of fees.
Making up for lost revenue by siphoning from baby boomers
Losing automatic overdraft is something banks fear, as the Wall Street reform bill gets set to become law. The National Consumer Law Center believes this may be a big reason why these larger banks are aggressively pushing payday loans no fax products to Social Security recipients. Sources indicate that as much as $ 700 million in Social Security benefits are taken each year to pay overdraft fees, which draws focus to the magnitude of the issue for America’s monolith banks.
Afraid of what banks will do with your Social Security direct deposit?
The Wall Street Journal addresses the other disbursement option: prepaid debit cards. Costs are low and the cards are FDIC insured. The card can be used like a standard ATM card for purchases and bill payments.
Sources Referenced
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875004575375474092141764.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_%28United_States%29


