Relying on a wire transfer also leave your money subject to creative bank fees as it heads out the door, and lets your ex-bank know where you’ve gone so they can pursue you with additional charges. Much better, I think, to take almost all your money in a bank check and walk it over to a credit union for deposit into your new account.

For easy deposit at the credit union end, open your account there (usually costs $5.00) earlier in the week.

Then, the following week when you’re sure your outstanding checks have cleared your bank account and that you’ve redirected all your auto-billpay transactions, go to your bank branch and close your account.

Thanks for this, Lisa!

Exactly, Teddy. I am not fond of wire transfers myself

Lisa, allow me to correct you. This event is in no way associated by or run by “Anonymous.” My name is clearly visible on the event as the sole creator (as the many reporters covering this story have seen).

So why would a lone girl decide to take on all this? As I’ve told the reporters who’ve called, “I was tired– tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up.”

I’ve been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me.

More info on the event – http://tinyurl.com/nov-fifth

It’s not anonymous. It was created by Kristen Christian, a gallery owner in LA.

tinyurl.com/nov-fifth

It occurs to me that bankstas cry when U buy USPS money order$ and SmartMoney

With respect to #OWS, Perris makes the brilliant point that if Citizens United falls, the banksta$ fall.

Lisa and Kristen, this is a way we can all affect change. I checked out my local credit union a few weeks ago, and rates on their ‘shares’, which are similar to CDs, were slightly higher than my bank’s CDs.

NCUA offers the same protection as FDIC, but be sure to do your homework before you make any moves.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November! I love your graphic.

TeddyWan & Lisa, I’m Tweeting U after I recraft UR titles w/ variations of embedded #Occupy hash tags. Folks really like photos & tips about how 2 deal w/ bankstas & R especially picking those up. Check out the use of http://www.twazzup.com as a monitoring device of meme spread/flow and rawk on.

This needs to be done. This is a real immediate way to Occupy Wall Street.

I most shop secondhand (or grocery store) but I have been wondering: where can I get one of those GuyFawke’s masks. Does anyone know?

my wife and i have dealt only with credit unions for 45 years.

i cannot imagine why anyone would subject themselves and their money to the predations of a bank.

the only exception i would make to this would be a small community bank. but at least one of my neighbors (a businessman) has had 100k plus locked up until insurance pays out due to the failure of his community bank.

factoid: small banks do fail! Georgia has one of the highest bank failure rates in the nation.

credit union is the only way to go -

checking, car loans, mortgages, lines of credit, etc.

the laws have been changed recently (over the strenuous opposition of banks’ lobbyists and then lawyers), so joining a credit union has become much easier.

see here for a credit union near you:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cu/19990526c.asp

and no, neither i nor any one in my family works, or has ever worked, for a credit union.

we just have no tolerance whatever for the arrogance with which banks treat their customers and for the many unnecessary fees that for-profit banks charge their customers (while paying outlandish bonuses).

and we recognize a good, safe money deal when we see it.

Very good idea.

I’ve heard people say that they’re reluctant to switch from a large (criminal zombie) bank to a CU because they think the branch / ATM proximity is not there. As regards ATM’s, however, there’s the COOP Network. If you see the logo on the machine, the transaction is fee free. There are a zillion machines all over the country.

Not all banks are evil; not all credit unions are blameless. It would seem that the better path to take would be to remove money from the large, culpable institutions. Full disclosure: my wife works for a small Vermont bank that has not engaged in any of the practices that got us into this mess.

Even if specific action on Nov 5th is symbolically important, one should still have have a plan well in advance.

It is often a good idea to overlap the old and new accounts for a few days, to allow everything to clear out of the old while you begin using the new. This is especially true if there are automatic things which post to the old account — many of those may not hit on exactly the same, predictable calendar day each month, plus the initiator may need some time to set up for the new account.

Get a new account number early, notify the direct deposit sources and automatic debit sources and ask each when to expect the change to be effective. Don’t expect everything to conveniently switch effective Nov 5th unless you have started the process at least a couple of weeks prior.

Then, for solidarity aimed at Nov 5th, leave the old account open until that day, if you choose, and then close it. However check your projected statement date to ensure delaying closing until the 5th would not cause the cycle to kick over and charge a fee — if that is a possibility, you might want to close a couple of days prior to that next cycle.

Idea by TarheelDem.

Not all banks are evil; not all credit unions are blameless. It would seem that the better path to take would be to remove money from the large, culpable institutions.

I couldn’t agree more. When I refer to the “criminal zombie” banks, I’m talking about BofA, Chase, Citi, Wells, and a few others. I’m all for supporting the community-based entities, whether banks or CU’s. Nor are they always (as you say) blameless. I’ve seen some heavy-duty bank account plundering by CU executives in the past (from the inside). Obviously, those entities do not deserve your patronage.

understood and accepted.

i applaud that bank and others like it.

my objection and my target is to the enormous banks which control 90% of the bank transactions in this country.

banks where a customer is just a piece of meat with a paycheck.

The fundamental Credit Union principle is “Not for profit, but for service.” That says it all.

Join a credit union today!

Yes– U still need to know the CU you are doing biz w/ just like anybody else w/ which U exchange. The ethical supply chain is a virtuous cycle!

This action is aimed at the big banks, none of which are innocent by a long shot.

Thanks. I should have read the post more carefully.

I agree, the present banking system must be destroyed before it causes 99% of the human population on Earth to starve to death for lack of income.

They drove wages down in the US, placing Americans on the $1.25/day much of the world lives on.

Enough already. Burn it, salt the Earth. Time for a completely new way of doing things.

Thanks Kristen. I said that there was a “component to this,” not that it was run by or created by Anonymous. The choice of logo and date indicate an affinity with/understanding of Anon’s embracing of EFG.

An Hero, s/he who strives with valor, yet futilely.

I am truly sickened by the adoption of Guy Fawkes as some sort of hero. Blowing up the King and Parliament was only the beginning. After that Spanish troops were to invade and support Fawkes and his co-conspirators in forcing the English to be Catholic, Bloody Mary style.

He had been a mercenary for the Spanish Army, fighting against the Dutch Revolt. In other words, he was precisely an imperialist. Fawkes was fighting on the side of the Spanish Inquisition.

He was one of the most evil men in the 17th century, and that is saying a great deal. I am just sickened whenever I see these masks.

My bank is changing, they are an international bank, originally Chinese I think and then British…sold their branches to a regional bank in our area. The full transfer doesn’t happen till March. So I plan to sit tight.

“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.” ― John Wooden

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives. They exist to serve the members, not to make a profit. Unlike most other financial institutions, credit unions do not issue stock or pay dividends to outside stockholders. Instead, earnings are returned to the members in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits, and lower fees.

I have found that many don’t realize that credit union membership is far more relaxed that it was in bygone days. Pretty much, if you exist, you can claim an affinity to some sort of credit union. I haven’t used a bank since the 1980s.