Kurt Weiske -> Joe Mackey wrote:

 JM>> are either approved or declined at the register when its swiped.

 KW> Most banks will happily allow you to overdraw your account and charge you a
 KW> fee to do so

  My bank will cover any overdraft I might make for free.  Of course I have
enough in there to make up any difference, unless I go wild and really
spend a big sum of money.
  Just writing a cheque for my rent and seeing the amount my hand starts to
shake, so the idea of writing a big cheque is unlikely.  :)
  Actually spending any money I start to shake and break out in a sweat...  :)
  Mostly those fees are too keep repeat offenders from being over drawn.
  When I lived in another town, somewhat small, that had only like two banks.
  I hated the bank I dealt with and when I moved I refused to have any bank
account for years.
  You would write a cheque (before debit cards were thought of and ATM's a
big city rarity) and before the ink was dry the money was taken out of your
account.  Make a deposit and that cheque would sit on someone's desk for
days before it was posted.
  About half the people doing business with them had cheques bouncing all
over town, along with the fees the bank charged, etc.
  That bank was a bunch of thieves.  But living a small town with few
options, what's a person to do?  Other than not having an account.
  Joe

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