Advertising Heir Apparent

Using your personal checking account information, banks will sell targeted and personalized advertising through pairings with cell phone companies and telecoms.

Why is this a good idea? The customer's personal information(your information) is a valuable, largely untouched asset. With advertising migrating towards more targeted ads at clearly defined groups through the internet, the type of information that a consumer checking account holds becomes a commodity. Money is to be made on who the customers are and not just on their balances and mistakes. Fees as we know them may be a thing of the past.

This type of arrangement would need to be a partnership. Customers will need to willingly want to be a part. Otherwise, sharing information as nuanced as purchases(what, where, when, how, who, how much) will alarm privacy advocates and scare advertisers.

To sweeten the pot, banks should provide incentives. Aimed largely at the net savvy, offering specialized account tools and discounted overdraft rates would sway many. But it must be enough to entice a critical mass to sign up, otherwise advertisers would not pay enough for access