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We study the pricing of deposit accounts following a regulation that capped debit card interchange fees in the United States and provide the first empirical investigation of the link between interchange fees and granular deposit account prices. This link is broadly predicted by the theoretical literature on two-sided markets, but the nature and magnitude of price changes are key empirical issues. To examine the ways that banks adjusted their account prices in response to the regulatory cap on interchange fees, we exploit the cap's differential applicability across banks and account types, while accounting for equilibrium spillover effects on banks exempt from the cap. Our results show that banks subject to the cap raised checking account prices by decreasing the availability of free accounts, raising monthly fees, and increasing minimum balance requirements, with different adjustment across account types. We also find that banks exempt from the cap adjusted prices as a competitive response to price changes made by regulated banks. Not accounting for such competitive responses underestimates the policy's impact on the market, for both banks subject to the cap and those exempt from it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truth Allen Stephens of Guymon, Oklahoma was arrested May 4 on felony charges for a writing a fraudulent check. In March, Stephens allegedly wrote a check from a closed account for $187,650 to buy cattle from an Okmulgee County rancher. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the appeal of banking to technology companies in light of the decision of Google to launch checking accounts through a partnership with Citigroup and Stanford Federal Credit Union announced in November 2019. It also partnered with KBC Bank Ireland over a Google app allowing users to open a current account in under five minutes. It cites the competitors of Google in the financial services industry. Also noted is the importance of the spending data of consumers to the firm.

This paper examines whether some of the unbanked consumers' choice of general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards over checking accounts and alternative financial service (AFS) products can be explained by the cost incurred by those consumers. We compare the three types of products by constructing consumer models based on the actual behavior of GPR prepaid cardholders and applying those models to the fee schedules of actual products offered in the market. Overdrafts are a major factor affecting the cost rankings. For consumers who regularly or occasionally overdraw their accounts, checking accounts are more costly than GPR cards or AFS products. In contrast, for consumers who do not need overdraft capability and short-term credit, GPR cards are more costly than checking accounts. The cost difference across the products clearly explains the former type of consumers' choice of financial products, while it does not explain the latter type of consumers' choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overdrafts have been an ongoing concern of policymakers, and they are one of the main issues being considered for prepaid card rules that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently drafting. Despite regulatory interventions and heated debate between proponents and opponents of further intervention, little research has been conducted to understand the overdraft behavior of prepaid cardholders. This paper attempts to fill that gap by analyzing a large micro-level dataset of general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cardholders. We find that a small percentage of GPR prepaid cardholders regularly make overdraft transactions and incur overdraft fees, but they tend to spend and load more funds on their card as well as use their card for a longer period of time than do cardholders who do not make overdraft transactions. Our results suggest that some cardholders may be making a deliberate decision to overdraw their account and pay overdraft fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of debit card regulation of the U.S. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) to checking account fees. Topics discussed include the benefits of debit card regulations to drive changes in checking account fees, the changes in the checking account fees, and the factors that may drive changes in checking account fees such as market characteristics, financial factors and competitive conditions.

On the occasion of its Foundation Day on December 18, the Bank has announced 'Zero-fee banking' on savings accounts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the occasion of its Foundation Day on December 18, the Bank has announced 'Zero-fee banking' on savings accounts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers insights on establishing a full stack bank without a license or a core system. Topics discussed include offering a mobile wallet that can accept and make payments like a checking and a current account, entering into a partnership with a payment bank licensee, and obtaining access to lending marketplaces through their application program interface (API).

The article looks at the threat posed by a possible Amazon bank account to MasterCard and Visa. Reports have emerged on the intention of the technology company Amazon to partner with a bank to provide a product that is similar to checking accounts in 2018. Such partnership is expected to eliminate the need for card networks and acquirers. Also noted is the possible innovation in the checking account market if Amazon decides to pursue the partnership.

The article analyzes the financial indicators in Mexico. The narrow monetary aggregate increased by 12.5% in October 2005. Peso-dominated checking account deposits increased by 14.5%, while foreign currency dominated checking deposits increased by 7.5%. In the third quarter of 2005, financial savings reached a record high of 54%. The exchange rate averaged 10 peso per 1 U.S. dollar in November 2005.

The article provides an overview of the historical trends in discretionary budget authority (BA) in the U.S. from fiscal year 1977 through 2014. Topics covered include the provision of discretionary spending through appropriations acts, the comparison of BA for an agency to having funds in a checking account and the talks about the appropriate levels of spending for policy objectives of the federal government.