WASHINGTON – Bank of America has been taking flack from consumers over its recent announcement that it will start charging debit card users a $5 monthly fee. But on Monday, criticism came from a higher source: the president.
President Barack Obama came out swinging at Bank of America during an interview with ABCnews.com and Yahoo!, the Washington Post reports. Obama called the new fee, set to take effect in 2012, “not good business practice.
“You don’t have some inherent right just to, you know, get a certain amount of profit, if your customers are being mistreated,” he said. “This is exactly the sort of stuff that folks are frustrated by.”
Bank of America pointed to the swipe fee reform bill that took effect on Oct. 3 as the reason for the new monthly fee, which will apply to debit card purchases, but not ATM withdrawals, mobile phone transfers or online bill payments. Other banks, including Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase, have indicated interest in assessing customers debit card fees.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) released a statement earlier this week in praise of the legislation he sponsored, calling the Bank of America move “an outrage.”