Banks preparing another run at fees

Bank fees are like sports stadium efforts. You never really kill them, eventually the proposals come back until they’re accepted.

Bank of America, which was roundly criticized last year until it rescinded plans to impose a monthly fee on debit-card customers, is back with a new fee structure, the Wall St. Journal reports today.

The bank is testing a $6 to $9 a month fee for an “Essentials” account in three states. The bank will waive some of the fees for checking account customers if they agree to bank online, which should be another step in the idea of putting the bank teller in the same category as the telephone operator someday.