Bank of America takes a step back on the debit card fee issue

Bank of America bows down to the demands of its customers. The management of one of the country's leading bank has taken a decision to not charge the $5 fee on the debit cards. The announcement has come from the spokesperson of the Bank of America (BofA) to appease the customers and shareholders across the country.

Bank of America has scrapped its plan on debit card fee

Bank of America had announced on 28th September that they are going to charge a monthly fee of around $5 on the purchases made with the debit cards from January 2012 onwards. The announcement was not at all well received by the consumers across the nation.

The announcement triggered series of revolts across the various parts of the country. In a country where a large section of the consumers are facing financial difficulties, the decision to impose monthly fees on debit cards would hardly be welcomed by the people.

The consumers are trying to save every penny to pay their mortgage, insurance premium, rent, utility bill, credit card debt, etc. They are absolutely not interested in paying an extra $5 every month. High bank fees have become a reality. Consumers have become accustomed to it. However, this news broke the patience of the consumers. This is mainly because a lot of consumers use debit cards for meeting their regular expenses.

Reports suggest that several consumers have terminated their accounts after the bank announced to charge monthly debit card fees. Some of them have just shifted to bank’s most powerful enemy – credit unions. However, the management of Bank Of America has refused to make any comment on the reports and gossips circulating in the financial media.

Bank of America has tried to placate the consumers earlier. The bank has earlier announced that they are not going to charge any fee on the consumers who would use their credit cards, maintain minimum balances, ask employers to directly deposit the paychecks in BofA account. However, the consumers were still not happy or satisfied.

In the last few days, the bank has even announced that more number of consumers would not have to pay any fee. However, as the other major banks of the country denounced their plans to charge new debt card fees, Bank of America has started debating their decision on the debit card issue.

In the press release, Bank of America has announced that they have taken the decision to not implement the fee after listening to the voices of the customers. They said that customers come first. They are very much concerned about the financial health of the customers. As such, they're not moving forward with their plan.

However, the financial experts have different thing to say. The financial experts question the sudden concern of the bank. They say that if the bank was so much concerned with the financial well-being of the customers, then why didn’t they take the opinion of the customers before making the decision?

The financial experts are of the opinion that the latest announcement is a ploy to win back the faith of the customers. Only time will tell as to whether they will be successful in getting back their lost consumers. On the other hand, they will clearly try to recuperate their lost revenue through hiking the existing fees or in some other ways.