More Than 78,000 People Say They'll Move Their Money from Big Banks to Credit Unions Tomorrow
Tomorrow marks the event created by L.A. gallery owner Kristen Christian, who, tired of bank fees and her treatment at the hands of Bank of America, as well as the behaviors of the big banks overall, decided that she would transfer her funds to a credit union and invite others to do the same. She called the day "Bank Transfer Day," and scheduled it for November 5. Currently nearly 80,000 people say they'll be moving their money, via the event's Facebook page. The Christian Science Monitor reports that "already 650,000 people across the country have joined credit unions in the past four weeks."
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Christian's event was first assumed to be an Occupy Wall Street related endeavor. In a disclaimer on the Facebook page, she clarifies:
While the Bank Transfer Day movement acknowledges the enthusiasm from Anonymous and Occupy Wall Street, the Bank Transfer Day movement was neither inspired by, derived from nor organized by Anonymous or the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the Bank Transfer Day movement does not endorse any activities conducted by Anonymous or Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Wall Street spokesman Patrick Bruner had told us back in October that "I believe that we will most likely choose to join in." Now there are various Occupy-Wall-Street affiliated groups promoting things like "Move Your Money Day" and other iterations of the same idea.
Despite Bank of America's recent retraction of a monthly $5 fee for customers' use of debit cards, people on the Internet still seem ready to make this move in fairly substantial numbers.
Christian told us, of the $5 backtrack by B of A: "I think [this] further illustrates my point that the CEOs are completely out of touch with the American public. This movement was never about the fee itself, but the principle behind it."
Meanwhile, Reuters points out that some of the smaller banks see this day as a marketing opportunity.
Previously: Kristen Christian, Who Created 'Bank Transfer Day,' the November 5 Bank Boycott, Tells Us Why
[JDoll / @thisisjendoll]
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