Chase Decides Not To Charge Debit Fees

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has decided it will not charge customers who use their debit card fees to make purchases, a person familiar with the bank’s decision confirmed to PaymentsSource.

The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 28 the New York-based bank would not charge the fees after testing them the past eight months in Georgia and Wisconsin.

The person, who requested anonymity, confirmed to PaymentsSource that test would end in November and will not be expanded. Chase had been piloting an “a la carte” checking account, offering customers such options as a debit card and online bill pay for a monthly fee.

Chase joins other big banks that decided not to charge debit card fees after Bank of America Corp. last month announced a $5 charge beginning next year (see story).

Citigroup Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and U.S. Bancorp also have announced they will not charge debit card fee.

Consumer angst over BofA’s decision has been a boon for credit unions, which have seen increased membership since larger banks began implement fees (see story). New federal rules that went into effect Oct. 1 capped the interchange fees issuers collect from merchant acquirers when customers buy something with their debit cards.

Wells Fargo & Co. recently drew the ire of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., over the bank’s decision to test a $3 monthly debit fee in five states (see story). The bank claimed the fee is a response to the cap on debit interchange fees spearheaded by Durbin as part of the Dodd-Frank Act.