New debit card fee a sign of greed

If you’re unlucky enough to wield a Bank of America debit card in this era, get ready for a disappointing change.

In an attempt to plant a safety net for expected revenue losses, the corporate heavyweight unveiled plans to start charging monthly fees to its debit card users.

If that doesn’t sound a tad bit suspicious, think of it this way: The moment you slide your debit card down the magnetic reader at your local Starbucks, don’t be surprised when $5 is mysteriously drained from your checking account. It’s a new rule.

The fee comes as a reaction to the recently enacted Durbin Amendment, which basically throws the spotlight on hidden surcharges that merchants must pay for every card swipe.

These hidden charges, known as merchant exchange fees, are the moneymakers for credit card companies.

However, ever since the newly lowered maximum fee was placed on debit card usage, Bank of America seems to have dealt a punishing blow to its customers rather than aiming its cannons at Congress or the businesses that they work with.

Reaction to the newly introduced fee has been negative and for a particularly good reason: it’s customers’ money. Why should they pay their money to have access to their own funds?

And while it may seem easy to just nod off the fee and simply move over to other competitive banks, one must remember that Bank of America is known as the banking behemoth with a history of government support.

This is the same corporate monster that bought out Merrill Lynch, Countrywide Financial, and the U.S. Trust Corporation all while being bailed out by the federal government.

If Bank of America imposes fees on its users, a domino effect seems almost inevitable.

Greediness is at play and the big kahunas of Bank of America don’t seem ashamed or even disappointed about this ridiculous fee.

Unlike JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, Bank of America isn’t testing the charge to see how well the $5 fee will play out with its clients.

In fact, Bank of America is so entrenched in money warfare that it has began slashing over 30,000 jobs in favor of outsourcing to India – a move popular with big companies who want to spend less on labor.

In addition, the bank will abstain from charging users who can pay for extra services.

Clients who can boast premium accounts or wealth management with any of Bank of America’s locations will dodge the $5 fee.

Suffice to say, a majority of the bank’s users will not be able to meet the minimum balance those accounts require.

In a stagnant economy that has caused widespread protest all over the nation, Bank of America has unveiled itself as one of the 1 percent, eager to capitalize where it can.

The $5 is an inevitable reality. Bank of America users should take heed and should start paying cash if they possibly can or move their accounts.