Chase Testing $5 ATM Fee In Illinois

When Congress passed and President Obama signed the CARD Act, it put a serious dent in the billions of dollars in overdraft and other fees banks were collecting from consumers. So it looks like the banks are trying to make up for that lost revenue - with more fees.

Quietly, the large national banks have begun raising the fees they charge non-customers for using their ATMs. After all, it's not like they're putting the squeeze on their own account-holders.

In Illinois, JPMorgan Chase has raised its fee for non-customer ATM withdrawals to $5 from $3. The fee change is in effect at 1,700 ATM locations in the state.

The Chase ATMs installed at Illinois Walgreen Drug Stores are reportedly exempt from the fee increase. Non-Chase customers will continue to pay a $3 fee in those locations.

More fees

The Wall Street Journal reports consumers can expect to pay all sorts of higher bank fees in the months ahead, comparing banks to the airline industry, which has altered its business model in recent years to build revenue on fees for checked bags, snacks, and other "perks" once provided for free.

And while banks may feel safe in upping the fees for non-customers, they aren't opposed to charging their own customers higher fees as well.

Sherri, a Chase customer from Burleson, Tex., recently noticed that the bank had charged $12 fees to both her checking and savings accounts. After talking to a bank official, she learned Chase had instituted a new set of fees.

New requirements

"It seems that even though it's your money, upon making transfers online from checking to saving, you are only allowed so many per month," Sherri told ConsumerAffairs.com.  "Otherwise you get charged $12.00 a month, and you must maintain $1500.00 in your savings account in order to not be charged as well."

Sherri said she was also told that to avoid a $12 monthly service charge on her checking account, she must have at least one direct deposit per month of at least $500.