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Released: September 01, 2011

Credit and debit card perks on chopping block

Source: Ed Perkins, SmarterTravel.com (USA Today)

If you regularly use your debit (ATM) card to make purchases, or if your card earns airline miles or other rewards, get ready for fewer benefits and more fees. New regulations cap the fees banks can charge merchants to process debit card transactions. And the big banks, unwilling to lose even a few pennies of potential revenue, have decided that if they can no longer get fat fees from merchants, they'll ding their card users instead. You're not really surprised, are you? Big banks have decided that if they can no longer get fat fees from merchants, they will ding card users instead. Here's at least some of what's happened so far: •Wells Fargo will soon test $3 monthly fees for debit cards on accounts held by residents of Georgia, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, and Washington; Sun Trust has already started issuing debit cards carrying a $5 monthly fee; Regions Bank will add fees to some cards starting in October; and Chase is testing monthly fees in a few areas.

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