Students wary of debit card fees

As early as 2012, Bank of America's customers will have to pay a $5 monthly fee to use their debit cards. Forbes Magazine reported that Bank of America's chief executive, Brian Moynihan, referred to the added cost as "A necessary evil given the new regulatory framework in the financial system."

Moynihan's statement about the new regulations referred mostly to the Dodd-Frank Act, which went into action Oct. 1. Part of the act, found on senate.gov, limited a charge that banks imposed on businesses if a customer were to pay using a debit card. In an attempt to make up for the loss in revenue, many banks are shifting the cost to the cardholders.

"We'll begin rolling out the fee through a phased rollout beginning in early 2012. Impacted customers will be notified in writing at least 30 days before we begin assessing the monthly fee," Bank of America spokesperson Betty Riess said. "Our objective is to be clear and transparent about our fees, and we have structured our products so that customers understand what they are getting and how much it costs."

Maryland student Adam Offitzer, a sophomore, is a Capital One customer but decided that if they too picked up the debit fee, switching where he banked sounded more appealing than switching the way he banked. .

 "Since so many banks offer convenient, good services without this kind of a charge, it makes no sense to spend that extra 60 bucks on an extraneous fee. I understand that the bank is trying to make money, but the charge just seems unnecessary and wrong," Offitzer said.

The Associated Press reported that other banks are considering introduced usage fees as well, such as Chase and Wells Fargo. Both banks will charge $3 per transaction. Capital One, however, has no such agenda. "As of now, there is nothing on the record about charging our customers who use a debit card," a spokesperson for the bank said.

With debit cards now in question, the very way people handle their money could see a big shift. "Customers who value debit's features and convenience can choose to use their debit cards by paying the fee. Customers who don't want to pay this fee can continue to access their checking accounts to get cash from ATMs, through online bill pay, and increasingly through their mobile phones and with P2P transfers" Riess said.

Students made it clear that they would simply make it a point to avoid their debit cards, and in turn, the new fee. "At the moment, I usually use the credit option on my debit card, that way I avoid the 50 cent charge per transaction, sophomore Steve Ernst, a Capital One customer, said. "But I would start to use cash more often if they charged me $60 per month to just use my card."