In our prior post, we reported the recent announcement that Bank of America plans to institute new fees to its customers for the ability to use their debt cards which have become immensely popular with the increasing rate of credit card debt consumers are trying to pay off.

The Bank of America plan includes $5 monthly charges for debt card use. While $5 may not seem like a lot, it can really add up for people who are already feeling the financial strain and even contemplating bankruptcy protection.

Bank of America justified the change by blaming the new federal regulations that they say will cause them to lose revenue. The regulations include a cap on the fee that merchants pay to banks when customers make their purchases with a debit card. Currently, the average fee is around 44 cents per transaction; the limit would almost lower that in half, setting the cap at 24 cents. According to Bank of America, the change will cost them about $2 billion per year.

Other banks plan to follow suit or are finding other ways to increase revenue by eliminating reward programs or diminishing the rewards, increasing the monthly checking account fees or by raising the minimum balance requirements raising the average amount of funds "in" the bank.

We will have to wait and see what effect the changes will have, but one expert from the advocacy group Consumers Union said, "I'm not making business decisions for BofA, but I can only say from a consumer perspective, consumers are tired of being nickel and dimed."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Banks Plan New Fees for Using Debit Cards," Andrew R. Johnson, Sept. 30, 2011