Did you know that Bank of America is about to institute a $5 per month fee to customers who use their debit card starting next year? Did you know that other banks are testing monthly fees in selected markets? Even the Wall Street Journal has an article (sorry, only a blip is available on this paywall blocked link) on this subject.
For years, banks have been promoting the use of debit cards. It started as a cost saving measure, to decrease the amount of paper checks they had to process. For the consumer, debit cards were a blessing. It lessened the need to write checks and go through a businesses check approval process where ID verification was necessary. It enabled non-cash transactions at businesses that didn't accept checks (like restaurants) rather than reliance on credit cards.
For many of us it became almost a necessity from grocery shopping to other purchases. It was quick, convenient, secure and let us use available funds in our checking accounts rather than throw more debt on our credit cards (which banks love due to the exhorbitant fees they charge). And failure to get that credit card payment in on time meant that you would not only be charged interest on your balance a huge fee for "late payment" (another huge profit for the banks).
Most of us stopped carrying a lot of cash. If we needed cash, the nearest ATM would provide it via our handy debit card.
Unknown to most of us until the discussions of new financial regulations was that banks charge fees to the vendor for debit card transactions. The new financial laws passed by Congress will bring those fees (a percentage of the transaction) into reason by setting a maximum that can be charged for a debit transaction. Those fees were previously unreguated.
Now that we are using debit cards, saving the banks from the expensive check processing, they're looking at them as yet another profit center since their ability to charge vendor fees is being regulated. However, banks aren't hurting and the use of debit cards isn't cutting into their profitability. This is just another excuse to add more fees to the already burgeoning pile of fees we're already being charged.
Yes, if the banks aren't taking enough of your money through fees already, watch out, they're coming for more.