Federal Regulations

Once upon a time, I used to have Christmas club accounts. You know, the bank would issue a booklet with coupons for a set amount of money each week and you’d present that week’s coupon with whatever the coupon amount was. There were something like 51 coupons and the last payment was provided as a bonus or as interest on the account.

Then internet banking came along. Instead of the Christmas Club thingy, I just plunked the cash in the savings account every week or at the end of the month. Whatever. The idea being that when Christmas shopping time arrived, I’d switch cash over to my checking account, via electronic transfer, to cover the anticipated transactions. Kind of doling it out as the shopping progressed.

Well, something has apparently changed somewhere along the line.

Today I received a FIRST NOTICE letter from my bank advising me that I’ve run over my allotted electronic transfers between my savings account and checking account. They tell me that I’m only allowed 6 per month. This is a Federal Banking Regulation. The letter said, “In order to comply with FDIC Regulation D, we are required to notify you that your account cannot exceed the regulatory limits. According to the regulation, after 3 notices in a 12-month period, the bank must take action to limit the automatic transfers from your account.

Well, I’m gobsmacked. I don’t like getting reproving letters from my bank warning me that the government doesn’t approve of the way I organize my finances. When did this happen and how damned inconvenient of them. Is this part of the Patriot Act or something? Another regulation designed to protect someone, no doubt, that just makes the average electronic banking customer’s life rather less convenient. I’m totally p.o’ed by this regulation that I can’t do a thing about. Just totally.