Consumers are happy with their debit cards and think the government should leave the debit card payment system alone, and most people appreciate the overdraft services that banks provide, according to a new survey by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
The survey, which was released during day two of ABA’s Washington Summit, comes in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s recent proposal to further lower the price cap on the debit interchange merchants pay to process debit card transactions. It found that U.S. adults are overwhelmingly satisfied with the ease of use when making a purchase with their debit card (86%), the security of their financial information when they use their debit card (81%), and the speed of the transaction when using their debit card (86%). Only one in five respondents (21%) support the government making changes to the debit card system.
At the same time, the survey shows a strong majority of Americans appreciate and value bank overdraft programs. More than two-thirds of consumers (67%) find their bank’s overdraft protection valuable—as compared with only 16% who do not find it valuable—and eight in 10 consumers (79%) who have paid an overdraft fee in the past year were glad their bank covered their overdraft payment, rather than returning or declining payment. Sixty-four percent of consumers think it’s reasonable for banks to charge a fee for an overdraft, as opposed to only 23% who think it’s unreasonable, and nearly three-quarters (72%) view overdraft fees as reasonable when considering that large payments like mortgages or rent payments are covered and paid on time or that customers are protected from late or other penalty fees if payments overdraft a customer’s account (71%).
The survey also polled consumers on their knowledge of credit unions. Consumers are generally unaware of the differences between banks and credit unions and believe credit unions should be held to the same standards as the banks they compete with for customers every day. A wide majority of respondents (67%) said that Congress should examine whether credit unions are providing enough community benefit to warrant their existing tax exemption, while only 14% opposed such an examination. Additionally, only 20% of Americans are aware that credit unions do not pay federal taxes, while 80% are unaware of credit unions’ tax status.
