While a lower required balance limit is good for some consumers, the net effect of the change will be for more of the cost of checking accounts — a free product for most customers — to be financed by the poorest customers, according to Rochelle Sparko, director of North Carolina policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. Those who will pay the service fee will also likely be the ones to pay overdraft fees as well.
“People are not in a position to pay these excessive fees right now,” Sparko said. The pandemic has left millions unemployed or without regular work, and the changes could have an adverse impact on the poorest customers.
