Poll: What's Your Debit Card Worth to You?

Bank of America plans to start charging $5 a month for debit card usage in early 2012, the Huffington Post and other news outlets reported Thursday. On Oct. 14, Wells Fargo will start testing a similar $3 charge to customer checking accounts in Washington and four other states, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The fees will only apply in months when customers use their cards to make purchases. They won’t be triggered by ATM transactions. The news reports also said that most premium accounts would be exempt as well.

Why add fees now? B of A and Wells Fargo are implementing the fees just as new federal limits on debit card swipe fees are about to go into effect, fees the banks used to charge merchants. 

Marci Barker contributed to this story.