Ready for A Debit Card Tax?

The new fees will hit lower-income families the hardest.

Mike Brownfield, --October 3, 2011

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Use a debit card? Now it’s really going to cost you. Bank of America announced last week that it will begin charging customers $5 per month for use of their debit cards. But if you’re looking for someone to blame, set your sights on Washington.
Bank of America is imposing the new fee in anticipation of a $2 billion annual loss brought about by the “Durbin Amendment” — a provision of last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street financial reform bill. Signed into law in July 2010, the measure was intended to protect America from another financial meltdown, but in reality it placed a boatload of new burdens on financial institutions and their customers. The results? Increased risks to the financial system, increased regulations, and in this case, increased costs to anyone who uses a debit card. More...

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