[IrritatedWithUS]

By Blake Ellis, staff reporter March 10, 2011: 9:34 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Declined! Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 -- or even as little as $50.

JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation's largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. And the cap would apply even if you run your debit card as credit.

Why? Because of a tricky thing called interchange fees.

Right now, every time you swipe your debit card your bank charges the retailer an average fee of 44 cents, which it shares with its partners. Those little fees, however, add up to about $16 billion per year, according to 2009 data from the Federal Reserve.

But as part of the Wall Street reform legislation that was passed last year, these fees are being slashed. The Fed is currently proposing rules that would go into effect in July and would cap interchange fees at 12 cents.

That's a big enough cut to cost Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) more than $1 billion a year. And Chase may not be alone. Other major issuers are also projecting huge losses from the interchange fee cap.

Joe Price, president of consumer banking for Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), said in an e-mailed statement that the lower fee wouldn't fairly compensate the bank for the infrastructure and services it provides to retailers.

And consumers would end up feeling the pain when Bank of America is forced to recoup costs "by increasing the cost of their everyday debit card transactions, limiting their payment choices, and impacting industry innovation," according to the email.

Credit cards from hell

Aside from mulling over a limit on transaction amounts, Chase is already testing $3 monthly fees on debit cards and $15 fees on checking accounts in certain states. Additionally, the bank announced in November that it has stopped issuing debit rewards cards.

A Chase spokesman declined comment on this story.

Debit card spending limit? Banks consider a $50 cap - Mar. 10, 2011
JPMorgan Chase Also Considering $50 Cap On Debit Card Purchases - The Consumerist

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This is crazy. Absolutely crazy. And a sign of the times.
Yet another reason why NOT TO have a bank account.

JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are seriously
thinking about doing this. I'm sure more banks are
to come.

==================================

 

[FreeNihilist]

I'm sure glad I opted out of banks a long time ago. :beercheer:

 

[BasecampUSA]

I'm sure glad I opted out of banks a long time ago. :beercheer:

Me too, man! - they just screw you coming and going...

They were never there for me when I needed them, and they junkmail / spam / bug you to death went you DON"T need them!

Good riddance!

- BC

 

[BadgeBunny]

Ehhh ... if it hadn't been for a bank I would have NEVER been able to buy a home. And our little credit union does right by us so I can't complain ...

There is an easy fix for this ... Use your checkbook. They have spent years getting society to go paperless. I have just stuck with what I know.

Now if you want to talk about trouble-makers ... let's talk about credit cards!

 

[nj_m715]

I love my reward credit cards. I spend the money I would have spent anyway and get 5% back. I like GM and Discover. Discover will double your rewards if you get gift certificates at one of their partner stores. Last time I had about $300 in rewards, but doubled it to $600 in Staples certificates. I got computer supplies and some Xmas gifts for free. Sure you can get in trouble, but you don't have to buy everything you see, you can really make out.
It would stink to have to pay $50 at a time.

 

[IrritatedWithUS]

How would people pay for groceries with a $50 cap?

How would people pay for gas with a $50 cap? Gas is getting bloody ridiculous.

How will people pay for medications with a $50 cap?



........time to set fire to all the banks... LOL!

 

[BadgeBunny]

I love my reward credit cards. I spend the money I would have spent anyway and get 5% back. I like GM and Discover. Discover will double your rewards if you get gift certificates at one of their partner stores. Last time I had about $300 in rewards, but doubled it to $600 in Staples certificates. I got computer supplies and some Xmas gifts for free. Sure you can get in trouble, but you don't have to buy everything you see, you can really make out.
It would stink to have to pay $50 at a time.

This. In the end it doesn't matter whether it is a debit card, a credit card, a check or cold hard cash ... If you are responsible with what you have to work with then you CAN make out better in the end. If not, well ... "you reap what you sow" comes to mind.

For folks who use their debit cards all the time that $50 limit would suck though.

 

[nj_m715]

It would just slow down the lines, piss off the cashiers and cost the store more in fees, which of course has to be passed on, but we could still spend as much as we want. At least that's my take on it.

 

[FreeNihilist]

There is an easy fix for this ... Use your checkbook.

Most businesses around here will not accept checks and havent for years now.
Cash, debit or credit only.

Many businesses also have a minimum of 20 dollars to be able to use credit or debit. So cash is the clear winner here for the sake of ease and no restrictions in my locale.

 

[BillM]

Dead Beat !

I love my reward credit cards. I spend the money I would have spent anyway and get 5% back. I like GM and Discover. Discover will double your rewards if you get gift certificates at one of their partner stores. Last time I had about $300 in rewards, but doubled it to $600 in Staples certificates. I got computer supplies and some Xmas gifts for free. Sure you can get in trouble, but you don't have to buy everything you see, you can really make out.
It would stink to have to pay $50 at a time.

I'm glad to see another Dead Beat ! :wave:

I do the same thing and pay off the ballence two or three times per week.

I worked for 32 banks doing Repossessions for seven and a half years, prior to retireing.

In their credit card collection office, They refer to people like us, as "Dead Beats", ( because they don't make anything on our account and have to pay out instead) !

They still make a fortune on the folks who run a constant ballence so they aren't loseing money over all but still resent us enough to call us dead beats.

:beercheer:

 

[nj_m715]

Can't beat a free down payment for your next car or a free lap top.
Of course my wife probably gives back 2$ for every 1$ I save. Oh well, You can lead a horse to water.. right?

 

[goshengirl]

They refer to people like us, as "Dead Beats", ( because they don't make anything on our account and have to pay out instead) !

Another dead beat here! :wave:

I have no problem with credit cards. They tell you what the deal is when you sign on. Sure the interest rates are astronomical. But they don't hide that. It's the consumer's job to do the math - if you carry a balance, you're going to get burned with interest charges. It's not only the consumer's job to know what they're signing on to and committing to, it's the consumer's responsibility.

That's not to say that I don't understand difficulties with credit cards. When I was a single mom I got myself in a heap of trouble building up credit card debt. I made a couple mortgage payments on credit card - but it was my own fault because I should have owned up that if I didn't have the $ to pay the mortgage, I should have sold the house instead of trying to 'protect' the kids from moving. I should have stopped working as the only employee for a father on the brink of alzheimer's (who didn't always pay) and found a job where payday was constant. I thought (or told myself) that I had to do what I was doing to protect my family (both my children and my father) - but that was wrong. Racking up $10,000 in credit card debt didn't help any of us. Lesson learned. I got myself into trouble, and in getting back out of trouble I really learned how much I'd abdicated my fiscal responsibilities to the circumstances of my life.

I harbor no ill thoughts towards the banks, either. They tell you what the deal is. If the consumer doesn't like the deal, they can make adjustments on their end - like many above posters have already done. Pay with cash. And for online purchases, you can get disposable credit cards or gift certificates - and sometimes you can get those at your local grocery store and 'earn' rewards.

 

[Clarice]

We stopped using banks about 5 yrs ago. We do not have credit cards. Everything is cash. We use money orders to pay for the things we mail order. Haven't missed any of the hassels of banks. The thing about cash when you don't have it, you can't spend it, so you never find yourself in a hole.

 

[778008]

Yes, I too, use credit cards for rewards and pay off basically as soon as I charge. If I make a large purchase or know I am going to I will even send payments mid billing cycle. I don't want any large purchases out there at all. Also, I have heard that England will stop checks I think in 2018. Wonder what will happen here now that they basically have us paperless. What happens when computers don't work. I am gradually getting my money into at least local banks now. I don't want a lot of cash in the house, not that I have that much, but I do have an IRA from work at a local bank and I really don't know what to do.