Bank of America has eliminated its last free checking account not requiring a minimum balance to avoid monthly fees.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, which has six branch locations throughout Delaware, moved customers to new accounts requiring a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or a monthly direct deposit of at least $250 or to avoid $12 fees.
Bank customers have since launched an online petition with 66,000 signatures as of Wednesday protesting the changes.
"Bank of America was one of the only brick-and-mortar bank that offered free checking accounts to their customers. Bank of America was known to care for both their high income and low income customers. That is what made Bank of America different," reads the change.org petition.
Competitors in the emerging fintech sector have also spoken out against the change.
"Big banks, like Bank of America, are passing on fees to their customers to help maintain profits with their inflated overhead cost structure," said Colin Walsh, CEO of Varo Money, which integrates banking with financial health tools. "Banking should be about helping the customer "“ not helping support old bank branches."
Bank of America maintains that its "Core Checking Account" remains a great value by industry standards, touting easy access, overdraft protections, and fee waivers for students under the age of 24.
Photo via Flickr user Mike Mozart
