The Occupy Wall Street movement started small but eventually captured the public imagination. Are we in for the same story with Bank Transfer Day?

The idea originated with an art dealer in Los Angeles and has since built a large following that has designated Saturday, November 5, as the big day. A populist groundswell may be building, which is good news for community banks and credit unions. The movement certainly dovetails with the credit unions desire to use populist anger with big banks to garner more clients.

November 5 thus looms as an important litmus test of just how mad the population really is over the new debit card fee that Bank of America has imposed, a fee that other banks are testing. Bank of America seems confident in its analysis that consumer demand for debit card services is relatively inelastic. They are obviously betting that demand will hold up well enough and that while they may lose some customers, they will not lose the most profitable customers. Credit union and small banks would love to prove Bank of America's analysts wrong.

In the end, while the may see a modest increase in assets, it may not be enough to force any banks to reconsider fees. In any case, this is a terrific marketing opportunity for smaller institutions and they need to prepare.

For more:
- here's an article from CUTimes

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