Unable to earn as much as they once did on overdraft fees because of new federal rules, banks are offering fewer free-checking accounts and raising fees on noninterest-bearing accounts to make up for lost revenues.

 

A survey by Bankrate.com found an 11% drop in the number of free checking accounts from last year to this year. The study also discovered that banks are demanding higher minimum-average balances to avoid monthly fees, with the average now at $249.50. Last year, it was $185.75, and in 2008, it was $109.26. Thirty-five percent of noninterest bank accounts now have either a monthly fee or a minimum balance requirement, up from 24% last year.

 

Additionally, banks are charging higher monthly fees than ever before, with the average now up to $2.49, the highest level since Bankrate began its yearly surveys in 1998.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Another Sign of the End of Free Checking (by Jennifer Saranow Schultz, New York Times)

Bank Fees Rise to Record Numbers According to Bankrate's 2010 Checking Study (Bankrate.com)