Miller: Students Should Have More Access to Fee-Free ATMs on Campus
WASHINGTON – As students head back to school and start to receive their student aid disbursements, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce, highlighted the need for students to be more informed about the fees they may encounter on their school issued debit cards on a conference call with reporters today. Miller also underscored the need for financial institutions to be more transparent marketing their services to students and provide students with reasonable access to fee-free ATMs.
A recent analysis done by Miller’s staff indicates that in California alone, nearly 800,000 students who may use debit cards to receive their financial aid or student loan money have access to only one fee-free ATM per campus location on average. In addition, students at 21 locations in that particular state appear to not have access to any fee-free ATM on campus.
“Access to fee-free ATMs no matter where you live or what time you need to access your aid remains an important concern,” said Miller. “Too many students have been slammed with hidden fees and penalties that cut into their already limited financial aid dollars. And if students don't pay close attention, they can find precious aid dollars wasted on debit-card fees.”
Today’s conference call coincides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) announcement that it is launching an inquiry into the impact of campus financial products marketed to students by colleges to determine whether these arrangements are in the best interest of students. Campus financial products include school issued debit cards that are used to access a student’s financial aid and school- affiliated bank accounts. In June, Miller and Senator Durbin (D-Ill.) asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to examine campus financial products after hearing troubling accounts of potentially bad deals that target college students.
A recent report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) highlighted how fees in many campus debit card programs target student’s financial aid. US PIRG found $0.50 fees to swipe a debit card with a PIN, $10 fees for six months of account inactivity, and up to $38 in fees for non-sufficient funds. These fees come directly out of students’ grants or loans meant for education.
To read Miller and Durbin’s letter to CFPB click here.
Next Article