President Obama has waded into the controversy over bank-card fees, suggesting that Bank of America is mistreating its customers with a plan to start charging a $5 monthly fee for the use of its debit card.
In an interview Monday with ABC, the president seemed to suggest the fee could become a target for the federal government’s new financial watchdog agency.
“This is exactly why we need this Consumer [Financial] Protection Bureau that we set up, that is ready to go,” he said.
Bank of America announced its new fee last week in a direct and very public response to the law that set up the Consumer Protection Bureau. One part of that law — known as the Durbin Amendment — caps the hidden fees that banks were already charging retailers anytime a customer uses a debit card.
via Obama, Banks Trade Fire In Debit-Card Debate : NPR.