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Credit card companies now charging extra fees for paper statements

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A new push to move credit card users to a digital statement will now come with a penalty for those who don’t want to comply.

Credit card companies from big name retailers have been silently rolling out a fee of $1.99 if you wish to keep receiving paper statements.

One of the biggest offenders is Synchrony Bank, and they have co-branded and store-affiliated credit cards with over 100 cards in their lineup, which include Sam’s Club® Credit Card, the Lowe’s Store Card, and the Amazon Store Card.

In November of last year, Citibank released new guidance to its customers saying that going paperless was “now required to access your account on Citi.com and the Citi Mobile App,”

credit card

MasterCard and Visa cards are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 29, 2024.  (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

There isn’t a law banning paper statements, however, but permission is required in order to start paperless billing.

In a report to NBC Los Angeles Alicia Galowitsch said that the change started to add up for them. They account for every penny. 

“It’s very tight. It’s very tight to where we had to start going to a food bank,” said Ms. Galowitsch. “It’s going to be $11.94,” said Galowitsch.

The couple has a number of credit cards and receive statements to help with organization.

‘If I’m not here, the payments are going to be late because Mark’s not going to know what to do. With paper statements, everything is written down for him,’ she noted. 

Dollar bills

In this photo illustration, one and five dollar bills seen on display.  (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Imagehoto Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))

Other concerns come with users who are not technologically savvy.  

Business professor Elaine Luther from Point Park University says online banking can pose a threat to security. 

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Online Reddit users have also been raising concerns regarding the fee.

Person entering credit card details on laptop next to Christmas tree

For its report, WalletHub analyzed almost 5,000 deals from the Black Friday ad scans of 21 of the largest retailers in the U.S. (iStock) (iStock / iStock)

‘I have the Paypal mastercard and got a letter in the mail today. Beginning in April they will start charging if you are not using electronic statements. It is a small fee of $2.50 but still just a heads up if anyone has any cards by them may want to check.’

‘Closing my account, ’one user wrote on a thread titled: Synchrony to begin charging for paper statements,’ they said.

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Biggest banks planning to sue the Federal Reserve over annual stress tests

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A general view of the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, United States.

Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The biggest banks are planning to sue the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests, according to a person familiar with the matter. A lawsuit is expected this week and could come as soon as Tuesday morning, the person said.

The Fed’s stress test is an annual ritual that forces banks to maintain adequate cushions for bad loans and dictates the size of share repurchases and dividends.

After the market close on Monday, the Federal Reserve announced in a statement that it is looking to make changes to the bank stress tests and will be seeking public comment on what it calls “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”

The Fed said it made the determination to change the tests because of “the evolving legal landscape,” pointing to changes in administrative laws in recent years. It didn’t outline any specific changes to the framework of the annual stress tests.

While the big banks will likely view the changes as a win, it may be too little too late.

Also, the changes may not go far enough to satisfy the banks’ concerns about onerous capital requirements. “These proposed changes are not designed to materially affect overall capital requirements, according to the Fed.

The CEO of BPI (Bank Policy Institute), Greg Baer, which represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, welcomed the Fed announcement, saying in a statement “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”

However, Baer also hinted at further action: “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”

Groups like the BPI and the American Bankers Association have raised concerns about the stress test process in the past, claiming that it is opaque, and has resulted in higher capital rules that hurt bank lending and economic growth.

In July, the groups accused the Fed of being in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, because it didn’t seek public comment on its stress scenarios and kept supervisory models secret.

CNBC’s Hugh Son contributed to this report.

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