Bank of America to Charge Monthly Debit Card Fee

will charge customers $5 per month to use their debit cards starting early next year, CNNMoney.com reported.

The fee will apply to purchases made using the card, but not to people who use the card only for ATM transactions, according to an Associated Press report.

It won't matter how many purchases you make per month, CNN's report said.

Bank of America is not the first bank to tack on added fees to checking accounts and debit cards, according to The Huffington Post.

The new fees are needed to generate revenue banks think will be lost with new regulations, the Detroit Free Press reported.

From The Huffington Post:

The added fees are an effort to generate revenue that bank officials expect they will lose as a result of recent regulations--passed through the Dodd-Frank Act -- that curb overdraft and other fees, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A banking industry group told the Free Press in May that creating or charging fees is one of the few ways banks can recoup revenue lost through the new rules. One of these laws, a Federal Reserve regulation that puts a cap on debit-card swipe fees, will take effect next month, according to Bloomberg. 

"The economics of offering a debit card have changed," Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace told Reuters Thursday.

Some retailers are saying the new fees might actually benefit customers, the Washington Post reported on its blog Saturday.

With a Bank of America branch on Cedar Lane, Patch wants to know what Teaneck customers think about the fee. Any plans to drop your service? Are Bank of America and other banks justified in adding new fees? Will the fee have any impact on you?

Updated 12:15 p.m. Saturday.