B of A: Will You Stay or Will you Go? (Discussion)

That $5 fee dangled in front of its customers in September has disappeared, as the threat of losing its long-time loyal patrons loomed.

In its statement Tuesday, the bank, one of the world's largest financial institutions, announced it had abandoned its plans to charge customers for using their debit cards.

"In response to customer feedback and the changing competitive marketplace, Bank of America no longer intends to implement a debit usage fee.

"We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee," said David Darnell, co-chief operating officer. "Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so."

To a public outcry, the bank announced in September it would begin tacking on a $5 a month fee for debit card usage in 2012.

In October, Bloomberg reported that about one-third of customers would switch banks if they had to pay a monthly fee, based on a survey by the Research Intelligence Group.

B of A joins the ranks of other major banks, including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, who also have dropped their plans to implement a monthly usage fee, according to Huffington Post.

The retraction of the intended fee also comes at a time when folks across myriad cities are advocating for people to bank with local credit unions, rather than global corporations. In will lead the charge in her city to make the switch to a smaller financial institution where customers receive "more personal service.''

Tell us what you think: would you consider switching to a credit union - why or why not?