ATM fee cap should be 50 cents per transaction, NDP says

We wouldn't need the nanny state to step in if the banks didn't operate via collusion.

So, what are you saying? Just because Netflix can stream an entire feature length movie for less than a nickle, you're saying that the data needed to let us have $20 of our own money somehow magically costs every bank $3? And it costs every bank the same in every location?

Unpossible!

Besides, it's the job of the government to create a free and fair market in which to do business. That doesn't mean they are always the 'nanny' state.

Or...you could just stop using the service?

Sadly, it is not overly difficult to pay nothing to a bank...well, for a personal account, any ways.

This is why the NDP is unelectable. Firstly, they steal the central theme to Al Franken's Why Not Me as an actual campaign platform. Secondly, the fee is entirely avoidable; it's actually voluntary. Thirdly, if their idea is to prevent gouging, what are they going to do about every single item for sale at a 7-11? Convenience has a cost.

Maybe they could have a central bureaucracy that sets the price/profit for each item in Canada. This agency could have an app for your phone. I go to Loblaw's, see a bag of milk for $5.59, scan the barcode with my phone, realize they're gouging by 20 cents and have an immediate refund delivered to me in person by my local MP.

If Mulclair wants to be taken seriously, drop the idiocy as a national platform. Make your platform the death of Keystone XL and tax the fuck out of the tar sands for environmental renewal programs. People may not vote for you, but at least it would be a big-thinking idea.

Does the NDP still want to nationalize the banks and the CPR? They were "waffling" on about that for a half a century. Have they evolved some and sprouted legs or do they still want to beat down the capitalist pig-dog imperialist reactionary lackies of the "man"?

I wouldn't complain and I am quite certain the current Fee is way more than necessary. However, I rarely pay the Fee as I use my Banks ATMs for Free(ish--pay Monthly Account Fee for 2(something) ATM and Internet Transactions).

I'm not entirely positive of that little stat. I dunno about the rest of Canada but in Ontario, unless you bank with RBC or CIBC and to a lesser extent TDCT, you'll be hard pressed to find an actual bank ATM anywhere except at your bank's local branches.
For me, it's actually cheaper to hit the CIBC machine at the corner store and pay the $3 if I need some quick cash, than it would be in gas to drive across town to my bank.

My former bank was bought by another which was bought by TD. TD moved all it's branches out of town, and the nearest was a 1/2 hour drive away. Is an hour of my time worth $3?

Same with at work. There was a branch with an ATM a few blocks away, but they closed that branch and now the closest is the downtown branch 15 blocks away. Right across the street is a CIBC. I can use the generic ATM in the lobby of my building or the nearby CIBC and pay $3, or I can spend 40 minutes walking.

My former bank was bought by another which was bought by TD. TD moved all it's branches out of town, and the nearest was a 1/2 hour drive away. Is an hour of my time worth $3?

I can't answer that for you, but ask yourself this, is an hour of driving time costing you close to $3 in gas?

Or...you know...use the ATMs of your bank branch.

Seriously, it's not that difficult. Even when I worked in Montreal, where there are only a handful of CIBC locations in the city, I was still able to find a bank to deposit my money without paying any fee.

Worst comes to worst....change banks? If I ever settle down in Montreal, I'll probably become a BMO customer since there's a BMO every 15 feet in the city.

It's cheaper to just rob a bank instead of letting the bank rob you.

Just saying.

As much as I detest the banks, service charges are about the piddliest and least important issue to get mad at them about. Fuck the Dippers (as usual). This is a ridiculous dogwhistle attempt to rally their cretinous base and to get attention from our repugnant media that gives th NDP a perpetual kid-gloves treatment.

Okay, Sundance.

FTFY.

That is what happens when there is olimited competition. You get hosed. I don't know the banking system, but what you should look for is barriers to trade that stop other compnaies firms from competing and removing those barriers. Easier siad than done.

The same situation exists with oil companies and telecom--a handful or players, and consumers get hosed.