Bank of America Dropping $5 Monthly Debit Fee in Response to Customer Backlash

Bank of America will drop its $5 monthly fee on debit card use that was expected to begin next year.

"We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee," David Darnell, co-chief operating officer said in a statement given to the International Business Times shortly before the news was made public.

"Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so."

SunTrust Bank announced Monday it was dropping the $5 fee that began last summer. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo began testing $3 debit card fees in certain select areas, but announced last week that they would drop plans to continue implementation.

Bank of America blamed the new fee on new government regulations limiting what the bank could collect from merchants for each transaction. The banking industry stands to lose between $6 billion and $7 billion in revenue due to the new law.

Anger over the new fee, along with other fees from large banks, was widespread. The IBTimes reported Monday that many people were switching their assets over to credit unions. A Facebook event for Saturday, "Bank Transfer Day," called on people to switch out of big banks and provided information for people looking to join a credit union.

Write to Samuel Weigley at s.weigley@ibtimes.com.