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Free checking accounts are on the wane at traditional banks, according to a MoneyRates.com survey released Monday. But customers can still avoid monthly maintenance fees at a majority of online banks.
August 20 -
The lower profits and new fees banks predicted when the swipe fee cap on debit cards was initially proposed never came to fruition. Why believe them now?
August 7
Free checking accounts may be
Most Americans (55%) reported paying nothing for services like automated teller machine access and checking account maintenance, according to the survey of 1,000 adults.
That's a slight decline from a year ago, however, when 59% of respondents said they escaped monthly fees. The ABA said more people are paying fees because revenue from merchant swipe fees which help cover the cost of maintaining checking accounts has declined.
Ten percent of respondents said they spent $3 or less on monthly fees. At the high end of the spectrum, 14% estimated that they spent $10 or more on banking service fees each month.
"While providing free checking accounts has become more challenging in today's regulatory environment, a competitive financial marketplace along with prudent account management from bank customers means most people still pay nothing for the great service banks provide across multiple convenient channels," Nessa Feddis, the ABA's deputy chief counsel for consumer protection and payments, said in a press release.
