Banks often emphasize relationships in their advertising…but are they really in their customers’ corner? Don’t bank on it. Many banks thank their customers for depositing their hard-earned dollars by nickel-and-diming them with bank fees.
Bottom Line Personal asked Bankrate financial analyst Stephen Kates what consumers need to know about savings and checking account fees and for his tips for reducing bank fees.
What Are Bank Fees?
The phrase “bank fees” covers a range of checking and savings account charges. Some bank fees serve as penalties for bank customers who make missteps, such as spending more than they have in an account. Others are charges for utilizing specific bank services, such as wiring money. And sometimes bank customers are charged a fee every month simply for the right to have their account.
Many of these bank fees are avoidable, says Kates, either by managing your accounts carefully or by switching to a bank that doesn’t overcharge. Changing banks is a hassle—requiring direct deposits and automated payments to be adjusted—so banks that impose excessive fees depend on the fact that few customers will leave. “The inertia is so strong,” says Kates. “Banks know you’re not leaving, so they have no incentive to be competitive. It can be a pain to switch banks, but it will pay dividends…no pun intended.”
The Most Common Types of Bank Fees
Here are the bank fees that customers frequently encounter and what, if anything, you can do to avoid or reduce them…
Monthly maintenance fees/minimum-balance fees
Account maintenance fees, sometimes called service fees, are imposed each month simply for the right to have the account. Minimum-balance fees are similar except they’re imposed only in months when the account’s balance falls below or averages less than some designated dollar amount. These fees can be significant. Example: With interest-bearing accounts, maintenance fees recently averaged $15.65 per month, according to Bankrate’s research.
To avoid this fee: Choose a checking account that doesn’t charge these fees or that makes them easy to avoid. Typically, that means an account that doesn’t pay interest—nearly 90% of checking accounts that pay interest have monthly maintenance fees…but about 95% of checking accounts that don’t pay interest either don’t impose these fees or don’t do so as long as the account holder has set up a recurring direct deposit into the account. The interest paid by interest-bearing checking accounts tends to be extremely low anyway. If a bank requires an account holder to maintain a relatively steep balance to avoid a fee, switching banks is usually a better solution than parking thousands of dollars in that account, says Kates. “You’re locking up a lot of money for a really nominal yield.”
Overdraft fees
If an account holder spends more than the amount he/she has in an account and the bank temporarily covers this “overdraft” on the customer’s behalf, that bank customer likely will be charged an overdraft fee. The average overdraft fee was recently $26.77, according to Bankrate, and this fee might be imposed several times in rapid succession if the account holder makes multiple payments before realizing the error.
To avoid this fee…
- Get overdraft protection. Most banks offer overdraft protection, which can prevent overdraft fees by automatically transferring money from a linked savings account into the checking account when necessary…but banks typically charge a fee to make these “overdraft protection” transfers, too, though these fees do tend to be lower than overdraft fees.
- Set up “low balance alerts” through the bank’s app, then promptly transfer money into the account whenever the app alerts point to potential problems.
- Switch to a bank that has lenient overdraft policies or no overdraft fees at all. As of early 2026, Ally Bank, Capital One and Citibank offered no-overdraft-fee checking accounts. TD Bank does charge overdraft fees with most of its checking accounts but offers grace periods so customers can reverse these fees by promptly depositing sufficient money.
- Ask for the fee to be waived. This won’t work every time, and it’s particularly ineffective at big bank chains—but small banks and credit unions sometimes waive the occasional fee incurred by loyal customers. “It is worth asking,” says Kates. “The worst that happens is they say no.”
Insufficient-funds fees
Like overdraft fees, these are incurred when an account holder spends more money than is in his/her account. But in this case, the bank rejects the payment rather than temporarily covering it. The average insufficient-funds fee—also known as a nonsufficient funds fee (NSF)—was recently $16.82, according to Bankrate.
To avoid this fee: Use the bank’s app to receive low-balance alerts and quickly transfer money into the account when necessary. Banks that have customer-friendly overdraft fee policies tend to have customer-friendly insufficient-funds policies, too.
ATM fees
Bank customers who use an ATM that isn’t in their own bank’s network often are charged a fee. In fact, these customers might be charged two fees—one by their own bank and one by the institution that owns the ATM. The average total fee for each out-of-network ATM use recently was $4.86, according to Bankrate.
To avoid this fee…
- Find an ATM that won’t trigger the fee. Bank apps often include a feature that can direct customers to nearby ATMs that won’t trigger fees.
- Switch to a large bank chain with ATMs everywhere…or one that reimburses ATM fees. Kates notes that most online banks and many small banks do this, though the number of ATM fees that can be reimbursed each month often is capped. Similarly, many credit unions participate in networks that allow their customers to use the ATMs of other credit unions without incurring fees.
Wire-transfer fees
Banks typically charge customers to wire money directly from their account to another account at a different bank. These wire-transfer fees recently averaged around $25 to $30 for domestic transfers and around $50 for overseas transfers, according to Bankrate.
To avoid this fee: When money must be wired ASAP, there usually is no realistic way to avoid these fees. But if a transaction doesn’t need to happen immediately, wire fees can be avoided by asking the bank to send the money via the standard ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer system, which typically takes three to five business days. Warning: Confirm that the recipient is legitimate before wiring money—money wired to scammers often is gone for good. “With wire transfers there is no taking it back,” warns Kates.
Check-ordering fees
Banks often provide customers with a checkbook at no charge when a checking account is first opened, but ordering additional checks can be surprisingly pricey—many banks charge 40 to 66 cents per check, according to Bankrate research.
To avoid this fee…
- Order from a third party. There are third-party companies that print checks for a fraction of what banks typically charge, including Checks.com, VistaPrint.com, WalmartChecks.com, Costco and Sam’s Club. A small number of banks, such as Ally Bank, don’t charge their customers for checks at all.
- Make digital payments, instead of using paper checks, whenever possible.
Foreign-transaction fees
Bank customers may face fees when they use their debit cards to make purchases or ATM withdrawals outside the US. These fees often are 3% of the purchase or withdrawal amount, though they can vary.
To avoid this fee: A small number of checking accounts don’t charge foreign-transaction fees, such as Capital One 360 checking. Alternative: Obtain a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign-transaction fee and use that when abroad rather than a debit card. Credit cards with no foreign-transaction fees and no annual fees recently included Capital One Savor, Capital One Quicksilver and Wells Fargo Autograph.
Paper statement fee
Some banks now charge customers to receive their account statements in the mail each month rather than just access them online. This fee is typically just a few dollars per month, says Kates, but banks that charge this tend to be banks that impose many other annoying little fees, too.
To avoid this fee: Manage your account online or look for a bank that doesn’t charge this fee.
Stop-payment fees
Banks typically impose a fee of $20 to $35 when a customer instructs them to not process a particular check. This might occur when a customer suddenly realizes he/she is being scammed, for example.
To avoid this fee: When a payment must be stopped, this fee typically is impossible to avoid. In these situations, a bank customer’s priority should be moving fast, not fee avoidance—once the bank processes the check, it’s likely too late to prevent the payment.
