The nation’s biggest retail bank might soon charge customers for services that long have been free, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Marianne Lake — CEO of Consumer & Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase — told the newspaper that Chase might begin to charge customers for checking accounts if new federal rules placing maximum limits on bank account overdraft fees and credit card late fees become law.
All told, the WSJ reports that more consumers might soon pay for the following three services at Chase that are free today:
- Checking accounts
- Credit score trackers
- Financial planning tools
Lake said she expects other banks would make similar changes if the rules become law.
In January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule that it said was intended to “rein in excessive overdraft fees charged by the nation’s biggest financial institutions.”
The CFPB proposed a cap of between $3 and $14 for fees charged to those who overdraw bank accounts. The CFPB says that currently financial institutions charge around $35 for an overdraft fee.
New rules also include an $8 limit on credit-card late payment fees. For now, ongoing litigation filed by members of the banking industry has put this cap on hold.
Members of the banking industry also have complained about other regulations that they say will force them to charge higher fees to customers.
Some critics are skeptical of claims that the new regulations will spark a widespread shift among banks toward charging for services now offered at no cost. As the WSJ notes:
“This isn’t the first time banks have said they would pass on higher costs to consumers when regulators have attempted to cap their fees. In 2010, after the post-financial crisis overhaul of bank regulations, lenders warned that they would levy fees on debit cards because of a cap on some card charges — but few ended up doing so because consumers threatened to move their business.”
However, banking leaders say the sweeping scope of the new rules makes this time different, the WSJ reports.
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