Do all banks have ach fees

[jazz4cash]

Bill pay has always been free at BofA but in that case you enter the recipient as a bill pay entity and then schedule payments to them. BofA handles it electronically or mails them a paper check. As opposed to the entity having your account info and pulling the payment. Either works no charge.

That’s what I do also. BofA billpay is the only reason I stick with them….it’s certainly not for the interest rates they pay! Even sending a paper check by US Mail I never had a problem with a late payment. Also no limit on payment amount. I do recall fees for ACH transfers from BofA to other banking accounts.

 

[Amethyst]

I've always used credit unions for such transactions, and never have been charged a fee. Wire transfers are another matter, though.

 

[audreyh1]

That’s what I do also. BofA billpay is the only reason I stick with them….it’s certainly not for the interest rates they pay! Even sending a paper check by US Mail I never had a problem with a late payment. Also no limit on payment amount. I do recall fees for ACH transfers from BofA to other banking accounts.

I’ve used BofA bill pay since 2005. I had 2 incidents over all that time with tins of bill paid. In the most recent one the city utility company sent me a late notice. And all I had to do was alert BofA online and they took care of it - they even called the utility company and made sure there would be no late fee. I’m sure it was a case of check lost in the mail but they took care of canceling any “lost” check etc.

The other was near the beginning - long ago. My trainer had not received her check. I contacted BofA and they issued another and took care of any cleanup on the first.

These were mailed checks. Most of my bills are paid electronically and I’ve never had a problem with them.

 

[Another Reader]

Outgoing ACH at B of A from the checking is $3.00. I assume it's the type of checking account I opened decades ago. If I do need to transfer money, I pull from the other side, which is free.

My one good memory of B of A was the Friday before the 2008 meltdown. I owed an out of state contractor a progress payment and the money to purchase supplies. I took several thousand in cash from another bank to B of A and deposited the cash in his account. All was well on Monday, but no one was sure that Friday.

 

[rk911]

our banks do not charge for ACH debits or auto-deposits. we've been paying our routine monthly bills via ACH debit for years. we set up each auto debit with the vendor (electric, gas, water, sewer, cable, cellphone, etc.) rather than the bank.

 

[badatmath]

It has been a depressing day overall but glad to know that was likely a one off.

 

[prudent_one]

That situation is so unusual I would call and ask for details and how the fee could have been avoided. It might be something simple we can't know.

 

[mrfeh]

Time for a new bank/CU. I don't recall ever being charged for an ACH, and I've used many banks/CUs over the years...

 

[Timeisprecious]

USAA will still do free ACH transfers $10K and under to members anywhere in the country.

 

[mountainsoft]

I don't know if they still do, but US Bank used to charge a fee to "push" funds to our savings account at Discover bank. This is easily avoided by initiating the transfer from Discover to "pull" the money from our US Bank account.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

What the heck? What CU screws their own members? I expect banks to take all they can get away but a CU? Unless there was some other issue. If that happened to me I'd be quick to move all my funds out.

 

[ncbill]

I was hit with an ach fee yesterday for the first time I tried "modern" banking to pay by entering checking account.

I had no idea this was a thing because I thought surely I had read here people who aren't taking SS have medicare take the money out of their accounts.

I know I am cheap but $10 seemed a little hefty to use my own money. I don't think bill pay is an option for the soon to be former employer's insurance I need to start paying. I know they don't take credit. Since our HR still refuses to meet with me until I have a PIN I am limited on what I can ask for besides a 2nd PIN to be sent.

Call 'em up & demand a refund.

$10 would be reasonable for a domestic wire transfer, but not any sort of ACH transfer.

 

[rodi]

My credit union charges for bill payer. $4.95/month. So I don't use it. EFT and ACH transfers are no charge as long as they don't go through the bill payer system.

 

[SecondAttempt]

What bank is this, and what is the name of the checking/savings account or plan they have you on? A list of fees must be disclosed somewhere on their website or given to you upon account opening - it is a Federal requirement.

Also, was it the bank that charged the ACH fee, or the company/entity you were paying that charged the ACH fee? I pay our property taxes through the township website and they charge a "convenience fee" using ACH...which is less than the 3% they charge for using credit card. Similarly, NJ motor vehicle commission allows renewal of license and registration online and they likewise charge a convenience fee for using bank account via ACH. These are not bank ACH fees.

As a bank customer I have never been charged an ACH fee by my bank. SO if it is your bank charging you $10 I think that would be enough to make me shop for a new bank.

When I operated a business and had a merchant account to accept credit cards and e-checks (ACH) I was charged a fee for ACH. I think it was about $5 per transaction but I think I only did one e-check in several years so I could be mistaken.

I never tried to recover that from customers just like I never recovered credit card fees because you were not allowed to back then. Now businesses routinely charge convenience fees to use a credit card and apparently for ACH.

If it is the organization that you paid charging you the fee then you probably have little recourse. If it is your bank, shop around.

On a side note, my company recently implemented a policy that we don't pay convenience fees for using a credit card when we buy something. This has become a huge headache and disaster because many suppliers simply will not deal with us and the purchasing department is overwhelmed with processing POs to avoid such fees! Pennywise and poundfoolish!

 

[SecondAttempt]

What the heck? What CU screws their own members? I expect banks to take all they can get away but a CU? Unless there was some other issue. If that happened to me I'd be quick to move all my funds out.

While I have nothing against CUs nor am I a big fan of large banks. I use large banks because they typically absorb fees like ACH. Yes, they try to live on fees for other things but for over 40 years I have largely avoided fees by doing things that cost me nothing such as direct deposit and so forth.

When I did try to use a CU 20+ years ago I found them not to have the "legs" to serve my financial needs. Getting a Medallion Guarantee to move a brokerage account for example was impossible. Seems to be less of an issue these days but since my big bank experience continues to be fee-free I see no reason to favor CUs.

 

[zaqxsw]

The State Bank of Texas charges $10 to ACH the proceeds from a matured CD. News to me until it happened. I've never had an ACH transfer fee before.

 

[isisdave]

As far as I can tell, there is no US bank that charges such a high fee for an ACH transfer. They are almost always free, although in some cases they may be a buck or two.

What kind of transfer are you talking about and from which bank?

A customer who has Chase Business banking told me she got hit with a $25 per month fee for all the ACHs she wants to send ... which is the ONE to me. We switched her to Zelle.

My USBank personal account recently stopped allowing outgoing ACH at all, although business accounts can still do it for free.

As far as I know, no one charges a fee of having someone else (mortgage, insurance, taxes) etc. suck it out of your account -- just ones you initiate yourself.

As usual, the answer is "credit union."

 

[badatmath]

As usual, the answer is "credit union."

It was a credit union.

Oh I got a letter just now via USPS said I dropped the leading zero off the account and that was the reason for the fee. I didn't know it would go thru that way. My bad.

 

[jazz4cash]

Leading zeros are goofy.