Bank of America Finds New Fee to Charge

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Sep 29, 2011 10:30PM

Bank of America has found another way for banks to nickel-and-dime customers to death: A $5 monthly fee for using a debit card to make purchases. Wells Fargo and Chase have both been testing out similar programs, but BofA went ahead and pulled the trigger. The flat monthly fee starts in January. Banks are exploring this as a new revenue stream to make up lost revenue from new limits on what they charge merchants. The Tribune writes:

While banks used to charge an average fee of 44 cents, now the maximum fee is 21 cents. This is expected to cost the banking industry billions of dollars. The Federal Reserve introduced the cap this summer, despite protests from many financial institutions.

Once again, the government tries to put the banks in check, and the banks find a new way to stick it to consumers. This is just another nail in the coffin of the dearly departed "free checking account."