November 1, 2011

Bank of America on Tuesday announced it is dropping a planned debit card fee. The bank has been under pressure from its customers and competitors since it first revealed the new charge last month.

The bank had wanted to charge customers $5 per month for making debit card purchases. Rivals Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan have also abandoned similar plans.

In a statement sent to reporters, the bank said: "In response to continued customer and employee concerns and the changing competitive marketplace, Bank of America is discontinuing its plans to implement a debit usage fee. The fee, which was announced earlier this month, would have come into effect in 2012; no customers have been charged this fee.

“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” said David Darnell, Co-Chief Operating Officer. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”