AUSTIN, Texas– Amplify Credit Union has launched fee-free banking, saying its members now pay zero fees on checking, savings, and business banking accounts. The $1.3-billion Amplify said that includes no account maintenance fees (regardless of balance), no fees for overdraft protection, and no wire transfer fees.
Ultimately, Amplify said the fees it has eliminated will put $2 million dollars per year back into the pockets of members. On a per-member basis, the return will be among the largest financial givebacks by credit unions reported last year and will benefit members regardless of their financial means, Amplify added.
“The banking industry is awash in half-measures around fees,” said CEO Kendall Garrison. “At Amplify, we see things differently. You are trusting us with your money – not the other way around. If we really want to be a force for change in the banking industry, then not charging our members to access their own deposits was the obvious place to start.”
‘Time to Change Our Business’
Added Stacy Armijo, chief experience officer with the credit union, “There was a time when the ratio between interest rates and account fees made sense for customers, but that time has passed. When we realized our members pay an average of $33 per year in fees on deposit accounts - and yet the vast majority of them also earned less than $10 in interest over that same time - we realized it was time to change our business.”
In a video for employees, Armijo explained the reasoning behind making this shift and the greater “community impact the organization discovered in the process.”
‘A Sad Truth’
“It’s a sad truth of the industry that banking fees hit vulnerable communities the hardest,” she said. “As a member, even if your balances and behaviors help you avoid fees common elsewhere, you can now feel good knowing your deposits with Amplify help protect others from the vicious cycle bank fees can create.”
The credit union said fee-free banking is an automatic benefit of membership and that it has made it easier than ever to switch direct deposits and recurring payments through its ClickSwitch program.
Amplify CU has more than 60,000 members.
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