NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp. is developing plans to assess a number of new fees to its customers, including users of checking accounts, unless they bank online, buy more products or maintain certain balances, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The move comes as other large banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., have unveiled plans to increase fee revenue or stimulate more customer business, amid low interest rates, slow economic growth and new curbs on service charge fees.

Bank of America€™s move is of particular interest, as it tried to implement a $5 debit-card charge last fall, only to have it backfire as the bank€™s customers offered stiff resistance.

However, its search for new income is dire, as revenue dropped $26.2 billion last year, or 22%, from its 2009 level.

The bank has launched pilot programs in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts, charging $6 to $9 a month for an "Essentials" account. Other accounts in those states incur monthly charges from $9 to $25, allowing customers to avoid the fees if they maintain minimum balances, use a credit card or take a mortgage with the bank.

Bank officials have not made a final decision about specific charges or when the fees will be implemented nationwide.

The WSJ characterized these new bank fee experiments as "unintended consequences of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulation overhaul," which it said restricted certain revenue sources.