Bank Transfer Day

$100 Bank Transfer Day poster

Bank Transfer Day was a consumer activism[1] initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions by November 5, 2011.[2][3][4] As of October 15, 2011, a Facebook page devoted to the effort had drawn more than 54,900 "likes".[5] Debit card fees of $5 a month from the Bank of America are among steps leading to the Bank Transfer Day protest with a November 5 deadline.[6] Occupy Wall Street participants support the effort[7] even though the events are not related.[8] Among the detractors were Occupy Los Angeles participants: Sigurd Olin Christian, creator of the Bank Transfer Day event, stated that "he was accosted by Occupy Los Angeles organizers and has even received threatening phone calls" because of his pro-credit union rather than anti-bank approach.[9]

Christian, an art gallery owner in Los Angeles, California, said he was dissatisfied with Bank of America's "ridiculous fees and poor customer service."[10] He created an event on Facebook called “Bank Transfer Day” and invited his friends to close their accounts at big for-profit banks and move their money to credit unions by November 5, 2011. Christian chose November 5 because of its association with Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the British House of Lords and bring Catholic rule back to the United Kingdom, but was captured on that date in 1605.[11][12][13] This has been a continuing observance.[14]

  1. ^ Sigurd Olin Christian (November 1, 2011). "[Bank Transfer Day] fundamentally doesn't qualify as a boycott". Facebook. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  2. ^ Little, Lyneka (October 18, 2011). "'Bank Transfer Day' Gains Momentum on Facebook". Consumer Report (blog of ABC News). Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  3. ^ Staff (October 13, 2011). "'Bank Transfer Day' Movement Goes Viral". WFXT. Retrieved October 20, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Pfeifer, Stuart & Reckard, Scott (November 4, 2011). "One Facebook post becomes national movement to abandon big banks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  5. ^ (registration required) Schwartz, Nelson D. (October 15, 2011). "Online Banking Keeps Customers on Hook for Fees". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  6. ^ O'Connell, Brian (October 12, 2011). "Bank Transfer Day: A Protest with Your Money". MainStreet.com (via Yahoo! Finance). Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  7. ^ Fed-up customers taking action against big banks, The Salt Lake Tribune
  8. ^ 'Bank Transfer Day' Movement Goes Viral Archived October 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine on WHBQ-TV, FOX News
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference cujournal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Miller, Jen A. (October 15, 2011). "Fed Up L.A. Gallery Owner Launches 'Bank Transfer Day'". Savings Blog (blog of interest.com). Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  11. ^ White, Martha C. (October 10, 2011). "Wall Street Protests Get Specific: Could 'Bank Transfer Day' Pit Americans Against Their Big Banks?". Moneyland (blog of Time). Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  12. ^ Digiovanni, Myriam (October 19, 2011). "Bank Transfer Day: A Good Time to Be a CU". Credit Union Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  13. ^ "'Bank Transfer Day' Causes CU Buzz." – from Credit Union Times
  14. ^ "Credit unions salivating ahead of Bank Transfer Day". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-05.