Bankers should protest discrimination against their industry

Northwestern Financial Review, Jan 31, 1998 by Bengtson, Tom

As a follow-up to my January 24 Straight Talk column, I want to note another instance in which I believe lawmakers discriminate against bankers. Apparently, some lawmakers want to make an issue out of the fact that a very small number of banks now charge a fee for customers to conduct transactions via a teller.

These banks, of course, generally offer free transactions conducted via ATM or other means. A small number of lawmakers have talked about making this illegal. Bankers should not be allowed to charge customers to see a teller, they argue. But again, I ask, why single out banks? Isn't the petroleum industry way ahead of the banking industry on this practice? They used to pump the gas for you. Now, if you want another human being to pump the gas, you have to pay extra. You get a lower rate if you pump the gas yourself without bothering any of the gas station employees. Isn't this the same thing that some banks are now doing? Seems to me a lot of consumers like to pump their own gas. And a lot of consumers like to conduct their own banking transactions. Obviously, the government should keep its nose out of it.