What's New With....Checking Accounts (and ways to spend from them)?
What’s new with checking accounts, and banking in general? In a word, technology…..it changes how we bank, where we bank, and how banks themselves are evolving to compete with all FinTech players have to offer.
How banks are changing
Banks have offered online bill pay for a while now. According to the Federal Reserve, check writing has declined by 3-5% each year between 2012-2017 as a result. What you might not know is that 20% of these payments are still made with a physical...
QoD: Match up the percent with the correct item below: 8%, 50%, 75%.
a) Percent of millennials that use peer-to-peer payments (e.g., Venmo) weekly
b) Percent of customers that change banks in a given year.
c) Percent of Americans under 25 that would rather go without their wallet than their phone
Answer (from Economist; subscription required):
a) 50%
b) 8%
c) 75%
Questions:
Do you use a peer-to-peer payment service? Why or why not?
Why do you think that such a low percentage of people change banks ever year?
Would you rather go...
QoD: If my employer offers to pay me using a payroll card, do I have to accept it?
Hat tip to Leigh Weldin of Conrad Schools of Science (DE) for this Question of the Day idea. She mentioned how many of her students were asking her about these payroll cards.
Answer: No
Questions:
Would you tell your employer you don't want to get paid using a payroll card? Why or why not?
What do you think are alternative ways for you to get paid?
Why do you think that companies like using payroll cards?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use...
QoD: Can you name ONE of the most Googled money questions for 2018?
Hat tip to Beth Tallman for sending this one along.
Answer: Here are the top 5:
5. How much is my house worth?
4. What is bitcoin?
3. How to write a check?
2. How much house can I afford?
1. Where is my tax refund?
Questions:
What money question are you most curious about right now?
Why do you think that so many people are preoccupied with their tax refund?
Are you surprised to see any of these top 5 most Googled questions on this list?
Why do you think that two of the top 5...
QoD: How many checks does the average American write each year?
Hat tip to Kerri Herrild for today's question of the day.
Answer: 38
Questions:
if you have a checking account, how many checks have you written in the past month?
What do you think are the most common expenses that people write checks for?
What do you think the answer to the number of checks would be for the average teenager with a bank account?
Do you think the answer to this question will change in the next five years? Explain.
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this...
Question of the Day: What percent of 14-22 year olds have a bank account?
Answer: 67%
Questions:
Do you have a bank account? Why or why not?
If so, at what age did you open it? How do you use your bank account?
What do you think the 1/3 of 14-22 year olds who don't have a bank account do with their money?
This study surveyed 14-22 year-olds. At what age in this range do you think that more than 50% have a bank account? Explain.
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (from American...
QoD: Can "free" checking accounts have fees?
Answer: Yes, as long as they are not maintenance or activity fees.
Five fees that are not considered maintenance or activity fees:
check-printing fees,
balance-inquiry fees,
dormant account fees,
stop-payment fees, and
ATM or electronic transfer fees not required to obtain an account
Questions:
Do you think it is misleading to have checking accounts advertised as "free" when they do have fees?
Do you think you might incur any of the fees mentioned above?
How can you find out...
Read the Fine Print: Overdraft Protection
What do financial institutions like to hide in the fine print? If they keep "hiding the ball" there we better teach our students to "read the fine print!"
Here are a few leading banks and the "footnotes" (small print and bottom of page) that you can find on their Overdraft Protection pages:
Bank #1 [click to go to source]:
Bank #2 [click to go to source]
Questions:
Click on one of the bank links above and analyze the overdraft services provided by the bank. Identify pros/cons of each of...
QoD: What's the top financial app in the App Store: Venmo, Cash App or PayPal?
Answer: Cash App
From App Annie (3/1/19):
Questions:
Why do you think these person-to-person apps are so popular (top 3 on the list)? When do you think people find these apps most useful?
Do you have any finance apps on your phone? Why or why not?
What do you think are the most important criteria in choosing which finance apps to use?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Motley...
QoD: What was the highest grossing movie in 2018?
Answer: Black Panther with $700 million in ticket sales
Questions:
How many of the top-10 movies did you see in 2018?
How many did you watch at the theater? on a streaming service?
How do you decide which movies to watch while in the theaters or on a streaming service?
Despite the fact that streaming services are becoming increasingly popular, ticket sales at movie theaters hit a record high in 2018. Why do you think this is the case?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for...
QoD: This week, the CEO of a major U.S. bank said tens of thousands of call center jobs could be replaced by ____________________.
Answer: Machines
Questions:
What types of tasks do you think a bank call center employee handles (i.e. why do people call a bank's 800 number)?
If you were a call center employee at this bank or at other companies, would you be worried?
What kind of tasks do you think machines will likely replace humans in the future?
What kind of jobs do you think are safe and will not be automated in the future?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the...
QoD: How much did consumers pay in overdraft fees in 2017 (in billions)?
Answer: $34.3 billion
Here's how the average fee has grown over the past decade:
Questions:
In your own words, what does it mean to overdraw your account?
Why do you think that banks collect so much in overdraft fees from consumers?
Young people are particularly susceptible to these fees. What steps can you take to avoid these pesky fees?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Wealth...
Question of the Day: What is most cited reason people give for not having a bank account?
Answer: Do not have enough money to keep in account
Cited = named as a reason for not having an account
Main = percent of respondents that listed the reason as the main reason for not having an account.
Questions:
What's the minimum amount you think you need to have a bank account?
Do you think it’s important to have a bank account? Explain.
The number 2 item cited for not having a bank is "don't trust banks." What do you think leads to this distrust?
Respondents also indicated...
Question of the Day: Is more money stolen through hacks of cryptocurrency (e.g., bitcoin) accounts or bank robberies?
Answer: Hacks of cryptocurrency accounts
Crypto; In the first half of 2018 alone, over $1 billion was stolen from crypto accounts. Typically not protected or insured by a third party.
Bank robberies: About $2 million is stolen a year from bank robberies
4,000 bank robberies average $4,000 per theft for $16 million but 86% are solved so only 14% or about $2.0 million is lost. Note that these thefts are covered by bank insurance policies so no loss to accountholders.
Questions
What...
Question of the Day: How do most Americans pay their bills: online, automatic, or other (by phone/by mail/in-person)?
Answer: Other (In person, by mail or by phone)
Questions:
Why do you think such a large percent of people still pay bills using these "old school" ways?
Do you know how your parents/guardians pay their bills?
What might be one risk with setting up your credit card bill to be paid automatically from your checking account?
The mean number of bills paid per consumer is 21. How do you think people keep track of all of these bills so they don't miss one?
Here's...
Teacher Accounts
To get access to NGPF answer keys, assessments, and teacher-only resources: create a FREE Teacher Account
