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Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's second-largest debit card issuer, has followed its two largest competitors and changed its overdraft policies. The San Francisco-based bank last week announced that it is eliminating overdraft fees for customers who overdraw their checking accounts by $5 or less. In addition, the bank will not charge fees for more than four overdrafts per day. Customers also can opt out of the bank's overdraft coverage. Wells Fargo, which purchased Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Bank in 2008, said the changes also apply to Wachovia. "Most of our customers don't need overdraft coverage in any given month, but for those who do we hope these changes will help them minimize overdraft fees," Carrie Tolstedt, Wells Fargo's senior executive vice president of community banking, explained in a statement. Wells Fargo issued 28.7 million debit cards at the end of 2008 compared with 36.5 million for Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte. JPMorgan Chase & Co., based in New York City, issued 28.2 million debit cards. Wells Fargo announced the changes to its overdraft policy Thursday. Bank of America and Chase announced changes to their overdraft practices Tuesday and Wednesday. The nation's banks collected $29.2 billion in overdraft and non-sufficient fund fees in 2008, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization with offices in Washington, D.C.
