Consumer Law

More on over-draft fees

By Richard Alderman

Over-draft fees are big business everywhere. In Australia, the fees account for over $1 billion in revenue. This is all, however, about to change. Banks in Australia are eliminating over-draft fees, after a proposed law limiting the charge to a ?reasonable fee.? Similar to the US, Australian banks had been charging $30-35, for a service estimated to cost $1 or less. In light of the proposed new law, it seems most banks are simply dropping the fee, rather than risk lawsuits. While I am sure the banks will find another way to earn money, perhaps a charge to every customer for monthly maintenance, eliminating a large fee generally paid by lowest income customers is still a good result.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on September 09, 2009 (boomark / email).