Overdraft Fees in the US and UK

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. US banks’ credit card fees already face new restrictions. Now Congress is expected to move ahead with proposals that could require banks to ask customers whether they want overdraft services. These allow transactions when accounts are in the red but have been criticised for charges as high as $40 per transaction, even for a $5 overdraft. They also fall disproportionately on low-balance accounts. This has proved controversial elsewhere – although in countries such as the UK, where the Office of Fair Trading has bashed fees since 2006, banks are further ahead in responding...

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