Some banks have responded to public anger over overdraft fees on debit cards by revising their policies, and the FDIC is calling for tighter restrictions.

So how common is it for people to overdraw their checking account, knowingly or not? An August Zogby poll found that almost a quarter (24%) says they’ve done it since the start of the recession. Who are the guilty parties? Differences among political party are slight, with Democrats (27%) slightly more likely than independents (23%) and Republicans (21%) to say they have overdrawn on their checking account since the start of the recession.
Age makes a big difference, as those ages 65 and older (9%) are the least likely to say they have overdrawn,  compared to New Globals, ages 18-29 and Nikes, ages 30-49, being most likely age groups to say they have done so (30% each).  People with a college degree (21%) are slightly less likely than those without (27%) to say they have overdrawn.

From the “no kidding” file, those who say they or someone in their immediate family has lost a job due to corporate downsizing within the past year (32%) are far more likely than those who have not (21%) to say they have overdrawn on their checking account, and those who classify themselves as being in the investor class (16%) are far less likely than those who do not (28%) to say the same.

Without any previous data to compare all of this to, it’s hard to say whether or not a quarter of those polled saying they have overdrawn since the recession is a concerning number or not. An FDIC report from 2008 found similar numbers, with 75% of customers reporting no overdraft transactions in a 12 month period , but that could be seen as the start of the recession or maybe it was an early indication of things to come.

Have you overdrawn your checking account since the recession began? How careful are you to avoid overdrafts? Should  the government step in to ease the cost of overdrafts for consumers?

Paul Uncategorized, economics media, recession, zogby