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No more free checking for Wells Fargo customers
Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) Free checking is becoming a thing of the past for more Wells Fargo customers.A Wells Fargo spokesman confirmed Thursday that former Wachovia basic checking customers who became Wells Fargo customers after the two banks merged two years ago could face a new monthly fee in June. Spokesman Jay Lawrence confirmed that Georgia is one of six states where the new fee is being imposed. The other states are New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut. “It is affecting former Wachovia customers who had a free checking account before we changed to Wells Fargo in the fall of 2010,” Lawrence said. Lawrence said the new $7 monthly fee can be avoided by maintaining a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or a total monthly direct deposit of at least $500. If either of those requirements is missed, the fee kicks in. The spokesman said the change will affect “a relatively small number of customers,” but he could not provide the number or percentage of basic checking customers facing the new fee. Wells Fargo has 3 million Georgia customers, Lawrence said. He said 80 percent of the bank’s checking customers avoid fees. |
