The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest effort by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck.

The change could potentially eliminate billions of dollars in fee revenue for the nation’s biggest banks, which were gearing up for a battle even before Wednesday’s announcement. Exactly how much revenue depends on which version of the new regulation is adopted.

Banks charge a customer an overdraft fee if their bank account balance falls below zero. Overdraft started as a courtesy offered to some customers when paper checks used to take days to clear, but proliferated thanks to the growing popularity of debit cards.

  • @[email protected]
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    1011 months ago

    My credit union isn’t great, but one time I was $600 short on my tuition payment and they let the transaction through and gave me a call later that day and asked when I expected to pay it back. I told them two weeks and they said “okay”. I’m not even sure I was charged anything.

    • @Daveyborn
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      811 months ago

      Credit unions be cool like that, at least mine is. Still glad my parents made my account for me, I joke with them that the account is older than me (it actually is)

      • @[email protected]
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        211 months ago

        Good on your parents. Credit Unions can’t do everything for you that a bank can, but that’s why you just get an account with them for a specific purpose, and use the credit union for everything else.

        I was the one to liberate my parents from the fee-laden Bank of America experience.

        • @Daveyborn
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          211 months ago

          I’ve just been glad to dodge most of the shenanigans I read about in this thread and what friends have told me about.