Some of us are particularly insistent on not paying bank fees; I narrowly avoided incurring an ATM fee today as a result of this stubborn resolve. You see, I’m currently out of cash in my wallet and simply refuse to incur an ATM fees due to out of network machines to get more cash. So, in typical fashion, until I get to my bank or ATM and reload, unless I can use my debit card, I don’t have any physical cash. This can be a great way of saving money, or, like today, it can cause trouble. I was running late because I was up with a bad migraine last night. On top of that, my commuter train was running late enough to cause me to miss the last morning shuttle from the downtown Chicago station to my office (I have a monthly pass for the train and the shuttle). I usually carry a Chicago Transit Authority card (different from the commuter rail monthly card – dumb) with me for these situations in case I miss the last shuttle, but of course, today I didn’t have a pre-paid card on me.

I ran off the train as soon as it pulled into the station, nearly knocking down and older man and sighing heavily at another passenger who dared to get in my way as I ran to catch my bus. When I got down to the street, the shuttle was nowhere to be found. With no cash in my wallet but pocket change, I turned on my heel to go to CVS to buy a snack and take out $20 from the register so I could buy a bus pass or take a cab. Luckily, just before I opened the door, I spotted my shuttle – also running super late – barreling down the crowded street. I made it to work, very late, of course, but without spending any extra dollars to get there.

Sometimes I curse the world when it’s not running on time. Today, I thanked my bus driving for saving me a few dollars! I can’t wait for it to be nice enough for me to walk the mile and a half to the office in the morning. For now, I just need to get some cash in my wallet.

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Of course, other banks are considering following suit. Talk about alienating your customers! I use my debit card for everything – including monthly automatic bill pay for a few accounts that definitely charge more than $100 per month. And now the banks want us to use credit for that. Credit?!  Just when America was learning to ween ourselves off our credit cards!

The sad thing is that this move is being considered in response to federal regulations designed to stop unsavory business practices among banks, namely that they charge too much per transaction from merchants. And I’m generally in favor of more regulation for the banking industry but in this case the unintended consequence is bad for consumers. I much prefer carrying my card to carrying cash (cash makes me nervous to carry).

While this news isn’t exclusive to Chase, if they go through with this it will be the tipping point for me to switch banks. And it wouldn’t be the first time. The reason I initially started banking with WaMu was because my old bank, Minnesota-based TCF was having trouble keeping my account information straight. Once, they took $100 out of my account randomly and wouldn’t give it back. Another time they credited my account with some else’s deposit. Obviously not the kind of people I want to bank with. So I got out of there.  And I won’t hesitate to do it again.

So what’s a good bank to consider? Here’s what I’m looking for: free checking with no limit on what I need to keep in my account. Free savings. No ATM fees, none. Pipe dream? Perhaps. But I won’t know until I start looking. I like ING, and I noticed there are a few ATMs near me. Does anybody reading have feedback on ING? If so I’d love to hear it.

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