Ah. I see where you are going. For a second I thought perhaps you were defending the practice as necessary :) The average consumer is shockingly disorganized

Ah. I see where you are going. For a second I thought perhaps you were defending the practice as necessary :) The average consumer is shockingly disorganized with their personal finances. Sites like Mint are a tremendous step in the right direction. Online banks are also emerging as "consumer-friendly" competition. For example, Schwab has one of the best deals out there right now -- free, interest-bearing checking, no overdraft fees, unlimited ATM surcharge rebates. I think consumers want to understand but are overwhelmed. Perhaps an approach lies in expanding the 3rd party services market to continue to provide helpful tools to consumers.