North Shore Bank Will Pay Customers To Use Their Debit Card

North Shore Bank in Peabody, MA, is about to do something they have never done in the past - offer their checking account customers transaction-based rewards in exchange for their meeting certain monthly guidelines.

"This is our first foray into a rewards loyalty program. The only thing we`d really done before was a quarterly debit card promotion," said Jim Muse, a senior retail banking officer for North Shore, according to American Banker.

Many community banks across the nation have been struggling to come up with new sources of revenue in what has become an overall tight lending environment.

"We are flush with cash as a lot of banks are right now - lending is down. So we want to focus more on accounts," said Muse to American Banker.

North Shore Bank will begin to pay customers if they increase their debit card use and automate their accounts. This rewards incentive program is being implemented in anticipation of future regulations to passed that will restrict traditional credit card fees as well as an attempt to increase the bank`s revenue and attract a younger customer base.

In addition to the $3 the bank will pay to customers who achieve specific balance, transaction and digital channel goals, eligible customers may receive up to $25 in reimbursements for out-of-network ATM fees issued by other banks. North Shore is hoping that by attaching rebates to debit cards they will not only retain current banking customers but also acquire new ones.

The specifics are as follows: to qualify for the perks offered by the cash-back checking program, customers must maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 to avoid being issued a $12 fee as well as have the account set up to receive funds via direct deposit, sign up to receive ATM statements electronically and make at least 10 debit card point of sale payment transactions plus a minimum of three bill payments via the consumer web portal offered by the bank.

Bryant Park

Bryant Park is a financial consultant for one of the companies listed on Wall Street. He writes on a variety of topics ranging from credit cards to different loans that can be availed by consumers. He holds a bachelor degree in Financial Services from Dartmouth College.