The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest effort by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck.

The change could potentially eliminate billions of dollars in fee revenue for the nation’s biggest banks, which were gearing up for a battle even before Wednesday’s announcement. Exactly how much revenue depends on which version of the new regulation is adopted.

Banks charge a customer an overdraft fee if their bank account balance falls below zero. Overdraft started as a courtesy offered to some customers when paper checks used to take days to clear, but proliferated thanks to the growing popularity of debit cards.

  • nutsack@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    overdraft fees only affect people who don’t have a lot of money. I remember being ruined by them as a college student several times. they should be illegal. let them figure out how to get the operating revenue from people with more capital.

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I dropped Wells Fargo after they re-ordered my pending payments to maximize overdraft fees.

      I’d actually overdrawn like 25 bucks after making a couple 3-5 dollar purchases followed by $50 purchase. They moved the big payment up front so each of those little payments incured a 30 dollar fee.

      Fuck them.

      • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I had that happen too with BoA, a long time ago. My initial reaction was “how in the fuck is this legal?!”

        Then I nearly blacked out as a torrent of un-forgotten media, of all the jokes, comedic hate, and disparaging sentiment towards banks, flooded back to my minds eye.

        Sadly, my only answer to this problem was “make more money”, which really isn’t an answer at all. Later, I switched to a credit union, which I would have done earlier had I known that was an option.

      • thatsux0rz@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Had U.S. Bank do that to me when I was a high-schooler on my first job. Time stamps on the transactions came in pending - next morning I had 2 overdrafts and fees to go with them. Cleared that account out the next day after getting them to waive the fees.