Bank Tricks for Christmas
Banks are up to no good, again. We should be used to their tricks by now. It’s that time of the year when we are inundated with color-coded credit cards and offers of overdrafts. Why would I need an overdraft on my account? Banks even suggest how I could use it. That’s right. They think they slick, as kids put it. Grandma preferred saying as crafty as a fox.
It’s November, so such bank tricks are expected. What I completely forgot was Black Friday, the shopping blow-out, which is after the U.S. Thanksgiving. It seems banks did not. They have Black Friday in their electronic calendars. They know that Thanksgiving is a family day, where Christmas demands are made. I want this for Christmas. I want the latest version of this phone.
No. You can’t have it. Your dad was laid off remember?
You know what? Banks know that he was laid off, but they’ll still send him an overdraft offer. They know he cannot disappoint his family at Christmas, so he will take the overdraft and get something from Black Friday sales. Do banks tell us there’s a fee for the $1 000 overdraft itself, and the amount we used, let’s say $750? Probably not, talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The reality is that banks are experts on the human condition. We look forward to the end of the year. We look forward to seeing family members, no matter how eccentric they are. Babies were born but we haven’t seen them because they were born in the east and we live in the west of the country. Therefore, we must come with gifts for the adorable little darlings.
Of course we’ll take the bank overdraft and that purple credit card.
Nonqaba waka Msimang
Executive Blogger
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