5 Hidden Fees Your Bank May Be Charging You

A recent study by Mintel Comperemedia, a mouthful of a marketing research firm, found that only one in five Americans would be willing to pay a $2 monthly debit card fee. A full 56% said they would use a different payment method, were they confronted with the fee. $2 is not that much! But consumers won the battle over debit card fees, so the point is moot, right?

Sort of. With customers and regulators patting themselves on the back in post-victorious fashion, some have failed to notice that banks are charging all sorts of innovative, strange fees.

Regardless of whether we think about banking fees in the right way, banks know that they have to tiptoe around the issue. Over the course of the year, hidden bank fees have been created for all sorts of services, some of which don't really make sense — but they won't get you upset because they aren't for your debit card. Let's take a look:

1. Online Bill Pay Fee

Banks love it when you do your banking online, right? Go to your local bank branch for proof positive of this; assuming it's an older building you should see one actual teller for every six teller windows. We can do so much banking with cards and computers nowadays, banks hardly need to staff tellers like they used to. 

Although you'll find that most banks do not charge a fee for using their online bill pay portal, you will find that they charge quite a hefty fee for same-day or overnight delivery. Suntrust Bank charges people $4.95 for same-day delivery and $14.95 for expedited overnight delivery. Similarly, Ally Bank charges $9.95 for same-day delivery and $14.95 for expedited overnight delivery. 

Because of the labor costs associated with branch banking, they often encourage people to do as much banking online as possible. But some banks have started charging fees for online banking services, even if it is technically a money saver for them.

2. Mobile Deposit Fee

Remember how checking accounts cost a lot for banks to maintain because of all the time it takes banks to process paper checks? Mobile deposit — that is, depositing checks virtually with smartphone cameras —  seems to circumvent this labor-intensive process. But despite that, some banks will still charge you a fee for the service; U.S Bank has started to charge $0.50 per check (after the first 20 checks deposited per statement cycle). And given the rapid growth of the market for the service, you shouldn't be surprised if more banks start  charging you for the convenience.

3. External Bank Transfer Fee

Many banks have started to charge a processing fee to transfer your money from one account at one financial institution to another account at a different financial institution. Often times (as with many other fees) banks do not disclose this transfer fee upfront when you initiate a transfer and you are left to find out you've been charged once the transfer is done. These transfer fees vary based on the bank depending on how much money you have in your account, how you initiate the transfer (i.e. online, in-person, on the phone), or the delivery timeframe.

PNC started charging $3 for making teller-assisted transfers over the phone or in person. TD Bank charges $3 for this service as well for standard time delivery, and $7 for next-business day delivery. The reason this seems a bit sneaky is because these services are free online and in-person at the branch, which runs somewhat counter to logic — aren't banks trying to keep us out of branches?

ACH Transfer Limits at Top U.S. Banks

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4. Savings Withdrawal Fee

Banks are allowed to limit you to six withdrawal and/or transfers from your savings or money market accounts per month — that's a federal regulation. But the government never said these withdrawals are necessarily free, and whether or not they are free often depends on how much money you have in the bank and which bank you hold your finances with.

Bank of America charges $10 for every savings withdrawal over 6 in a month, unless you keep $20,000 with them in savings, in which case the fee is waived and all six are free. For PNC Bank, they charge a whopping $15 for every withdrawal you make, starting at the very first one. However, certain banks don't charge a fee at all, like Synchrony and Capital One, which can be beneficial if you find yourself needing to take out money from your savings on a more than occasional basis.

The less money you have in savings, the more likely you are to be withdrawing regularly, and the more likely it is that you'll be dinged for some cash every time you take your cash out of your account.

Savings Withdrawal Fees at Top U.S. Banks

5. Card Replacement Fee

In the good old days, a lost debit card might have meant a panicked call to customer service to cancel your card (maybe you left it at a bar?), but at least your bank would send you a new card, no strings attached, right? Not anymore if you bank with Bank of America; you'll be paying $5 for a new card. Remember to close out your tabs, guys. Your bartender hates you.

Lost Debit Card Replacement Fee at the Top Banks

Read your fee disclosure forms carefully, kids. You never know what you're gonna get charged for.