SPOKANE, Wash. — Banking fees can catch consumers off guard, but financial experts say most charges are preventable with the right strategies.
Josh Bergman, a financial education specialist at WSECU, shared methods to help people avoid common banking fees.
Preventing overdraft fees
“So if your account is getting to a certain balance, you can set an alert that actually pops up and shows, hey, your account is at this level, you might want to put money in,” Bergman said. “Having some kind of account that’s linked to your checking account, like a savings account, so if you are going to overdraft, it will transfer money like a savings account over to your account to cover that.”
Avoiding ATM fees
ATM fees can double when customers use machines outside their bank’s network. Bergman recommends using mobile banking apps to locate fee-free ATMs.
“So actually going in and looking at your mobile banking, a lot of times it’ll show ATMs that are around you that are service charge free, so you don’t have to pay fees for that is really important,” he said.
Finding free checking accounts
“But if your financial institution doesn’t offer free checking, there are lots of financial institutions that do that offer you free things. So finding an account that works for you I think is really important,” Bergman said.
Mobile banking alerts
Banking apps offer customizable alerts that can prevent costly mistakes.
“Letting you know that like, hey, maybe a $500 or more transaction went through on your account, it’ll send you a text message to say, hey, this came through on your account. So you’re aware of that kind of stuff. But also, alert of when your balance maybe reaches a certain amount,” Bergman explained.
Bergman also advises customers to regularly review account statements to catch unauthorized or incorrect charges early.
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