Bank of America scraps debit fee plan

In the wake of a strong public backlash, Bank of America on Tuesday announced it was abandoning plans to charge monthly fees for debit card users. "We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee," said a company statement. "We are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so." The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank had announced a $5 monthly charge for US debit card users, claiming it was a small but essential step to cover the cost of ill-conceived government regulation. The bank fingered the so-called Durbin Amendment for blame, a measure which meant that for each swipe of a debit card, widely used for consumer payments in the country, banks would only be able to charge retailers roughly 22 cents rather than 44 cents today. That earned a stinging rebuke from the amendment's author Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who insisted in an open letter to Bank of America boss Brian Moynihan that the fee was "merely your latest excuse for jacking up consumer fees." Big US banks, their profits savaged by the financial crash, have been rolling out a fresh batch of fees for customers to try and boost falling revenue. But Bank of America's plans appear to have been a step too far.