briefcase

Ally dropping overdraft fees

NEW YORK – Ally Financial is ending overdraft fees entirely on all of its bank products, the company said Wednesday, being the first large bank to end overdraft fees across its entire business.

It’s a major move by Ally, the 17th largest bank in the country by size, and for the industry, which has been reliant on overdraft fees for decades to boost profits often at the expense of poorer Americans.

In its announcement, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank cited specifically the impact that overdraft fees have on Black and Latino households, which are historically poorer than their white counterparts and are hit with overdraft fees more often. It’s a common reason why Black and Latino households choose to be “unbanked,” that is being without a bank account, in order to avoid the fees that often come with these accounts.

Amazon sale set for June 21-22

NEW YORK – Amazon said Wednesday it will hold its annual Prime Day over two days in June this year, the earliest it has ever held the sales event.

Typically, Amazon holds Prime Day in July. Amazon has said it was holding it earlier because of the Olympics, which starts next month and takes people’s attention away. Last year, Amazon postponed Prime Day to October because of the pandemic and used the sales event to kick off holiday shopping early.

This year, Prime Day will be June 21 to June 22 in 20 countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and Japan.

Huawei unveils operating system

HONG KONG – Huawei launched its own HarmonyOS mobile operating system on its handsets Wednesday as it adapts to having lost access to Google mobile services two years ago after the U.S. put the Chinese telecommunications company on a trade blacklist.

The Shenzhen-based company announced that about 100 Huawei smartphone models will use its proprietary HarmonyOS system, and that the operating system will also be available on certain tablets and smart screens in the fourth quarter of the year.

The launch of the operating system comes as the company is still cut off from American technologies including Google’s services and some computer chips to power its devices after the U.S. put it on an “entity list,” saying Huawei might aid China’s espionage efforts, an accusation the company vehemently denies.

From wire reports