Banks Very Nervous Moving Forward with Debit Card Fees: Many Axing the Program

Banks such as Wells Fargo and Chase are axing their test drive programs on debit card usage fees. A month or two ago, industry leader Bank of America declared that they would introduce a $5 a month debit card fee if you used it even once, in response to Congress capping vendor fees (a good thing for business). Still in the black, banks wanted to make up that lost revenue in additional fees. It is still possible that they will find other ways to account for the lost revenue.

Wells Fargo cited "customer service feedback" in choosing to axe their $3 a month test drive. Chase heard an earful from their shareholders, also very dissatisfied with the move. As for Bank of America: they have no plans to stop the fee charge. They are, however, pointing their ears in the direction of shareholders who are going "wtf bbq".

It is also possible that, in the grand scheme of concocting these test drives, banks realized that the profits potentially earned may not be worth the negative consequences of dissatisfied customers who may switch to credit unions or other, smaller banks for loans. It may be that the open market saved the country from debit card fees: To avoid the fees, people can switch to banks who are axing the program. Not to mention those pesky stockholders, who felt uncomfortable with the whole thing. Another alarm bell in the minds of the board- consumers opening accounts with credit unions to avoid fees.

Community banks, credit unions, and banks such as PNC, Ally and Huntington National refused the program in the first place. As for Bank of America, they are reluctant to change their minds. In this information age- knowledge is power. Even the general population cannot be taken for simple idiots. People will make choices, and those who don't backstab, win.