New bill could block debit fees

TALLAHASSEE -- Rep. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, has filed a bill with the Florida House that would block banks from charging customers monthly fees for debit card use, according to the News Service of Florida.

“The banks sold us all on the idea of a cashless society, and now that we've bought into their promise of free, easy access to our own money, they want to charge us for it,” Clemens says in a statement defending House Bill 375.

Bank of America has said that it will begin charging its customers $5 a month for using a debit card for purchases at the start of 2012. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase are also testing the viability of debit card fees in select markets.

Last month, Lakewood Ranch-based Community Bank & Co. responded to the latest trend among big banks by offering to pay new customers $5 a month for opening a checking account with direct deposit.