Bank of America is initiating a $5 monthly fee on people who want to use their debit cards for purchases. Customers using their card just at the ATM will not have to pay the fee. Already Wells Fargo, the other giant mega bank, has said it plans to test a $3 fee, which they say is because of new federal rules that made the cards less profitable for banks. Out of all the banks, Bank of America has the most financial problems. It has more problems with bad mortgages, fallout from the sales of bonds made from those loans and questions about how it serviced its home mortgages. So it was inevitable they would be the first bank to try and recoup some of those losses. The only way around not paying the fee is to have your mortgage with them or have more than $20,000 in account balances. So for the average customer, the fee will have an impact.