newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Kristen Christian, an art-gallery owner from California didn’t appreciate banks charging for debit card use and decided to do something about it. Christian started a campaign on Facebook protesting big banks.

Christian is the founder of Bank Transfer Day, Saturday, Nov. 5, which also happens to be Guy Fawkes Day.

Over 42,400 Facebook users liked Bank Transfer Day, and right now, over 79,000 plan to attend Christian’s party.

Christian is inviting people to move their funds from profit earning banks to not-for-profit credit unions by Nov. 5. MarketWatch reports that an estimated 650,000 consumers have joined credit unions across the US since Sept. 29, the day Bank of America announced its debit-card fee. Coincidence? You be the judge.

Reuters reports that many credit unions have seen a demand for hundreds of thousands of new accounts since the protest began, and some regional banks and credit unions have used Twitter to promote themselves as alternatives.

Christian has opened accounts at two credit unions and plans to leave Bank of America this weekend. The bank recently announced that it has dropped its $5 monthly debit card fee.

Go Banking Rates says there are some disadvantages to smaller banks or credit unions, saying they may not be able to dream up sophisticated new depositor products, or have the capital available to bigger banks. They recommend considering the pros and cons of a move carefully.

“It’s too little, too late,” said the 27-year-old Christian, according to the Washington Post. “Consumers are waking up and seeing that they have options.”