I didn't know about this regulation because it seems like a US thing, and I've never had a US bank account. To be honest, I'm finding a hard time trying to understand how it works because it seems that it doesn't apply to al cases and that it was suspended for the time of the pandemic (and remains suspended) but some banks enforce it anyway. And it's only for savings accounts, right? I agree it's all easier with Bitcoin and bank fees can be ridiculous, but Bitcoin also has transaction fees which might amount to solid sums from time to time (although not over the last year or so), but it seems this regulation only applies to certain types of withdrawals, on a particular type of account, isn't enforced on the federal level (it's enforced only by some individual banks), and the fee also varies greatly.
From my understanding it's one of those things that was logical at the time, but times have changed but the rules stayed.
Go back in time before there was an online never-mind online banking.
You had checking accounts, and savings accounts. (yes there were other types but that covered most accounts in the US)
Savings accounts used to pay really good interest, we are talking double digits.
Checking accounts paid no interest or very very minimal.
There were no instantiations ACH transfers like we have today, no call your credit card company to make a payment over the phone. Nothing like that. You either mailed a check to pay a bill or want to the bank that did your credit card / mortgage / whatever and gave them some cash.
So they drew a line. If you wanted money to pay bills you took it out of savings and put it in checking.
In theory, if you paid bills once a week. You could go to the bank, take money out of savings and put it in your checking and then go home and write checks to pay those bills.
Online banking, more things paid by credit & debit cards, low interest rates, and a host of other things have changed the banking dynamic. Bur the rules was never changed.
Most people don't really care. There are obviously some that do, and sooner or later the rule may be changed but I don't see anyone rushing to do it.
But if you take money out more then 6 times a month is it really a savings account where you put money int to
save, or is it now more like a checking account with money going in for the sole reason of taking it out to pay bills.
-Dave