If people are going to adopt bitcoin, they are going to realize an organic and natural need for it to happen. Overdraft fees are a problem for too many people across the globe.

Bank Overdraft Fees

Overdraft fees. It’s something all too many of us have had to deal with at our bank. We have our debit card declined or open our online banking app to find that our balance is negative and that we have been hit by the dreaded overdraft fee, or even worse, we’ve been hit by several overdraft fees. This is often the result of a bounced check, spending money before a deposit has been processed or an automatic rent payment that gets drafted from your account. No matter the cause, overdraft fees are a problem.

These sorts of fees can often be alleviated by applying for a line of credit with your bank that prevents the fees while allowing the user to run a negative balance. The problem with these sorts of safety nets is that they often hurt the underbanked and poor because they aren’t qualified for them due to poor credit or “insufficient credit history”.

For millions of people around the world, living paycheck to paycheck is a reality and funds they need and rely on are not always in their account as soon as they ought to be due to several days of bank “processing”. As a result, those with the worst credit and often lowest incomes are subjected to hefty fines from the bank as much as $35 (432,657 sats) per transaction.

No Bitcoin Overdraft Fees. Ever.

Bitcoin offers a way to store value that isn’t controlled by the banks and there is no way of have a negative balance with Bitcoin because it operates kind of like a digital form of cash. You either have it or you don’t. This is probably how banks should operate unless you opt-in to overdraft protection but that’s not the case.

In 2015 alone, Chase Bank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo made over $4 (49,447 sats) Billion from overdraft fees (Yes, that’s billion with a “B”). We all know that banks have a right to make a profit but many people would rather have their payment be declined rather than pay an absurd overdraft fee. What these fees mean is that super-wealthy banks make billions of dollars a year from people who don’t have any money. This can be especially troubling for those mentioned above who are already living paycheck to paycheck. It sounds like a classic case of the banks “kicking their customers while they are down”.

While Bitcoin is not going to replace banks, it might be an extra tool that people start to use alongside their checking accounts if the banks can’t curb their appetites for these fees.