Top 10 Worst Bank Fees

Distinct from overdrafts, NSF fees punish customers when the bank declines a transaction for insufficient funds — charging up to $35 for the privilege of not even processing the payment.

Customers get double-charged by both their own bank and the ATM operator, averaging $4.73 per withdrawal and effectively creating a toll booth for accessing your own money.

Major banks like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo charge $12-$25 per month just to keep an account open unless customers maintain minimum balances that many working families cannot afford.

Domestic wires cost $25-$30 and international wires run $40-$50 at most major banks, a staggering markup on transfers that cost the bank mere cents to process electronically.

A sneaky 3% surcharge on every purchase made abroad or in foreign currency, applied on top of already unfavorable exchange rates, that can add hundreds to the cost of international travel.

Some banks now charge $2-$5 per month for mailing paper statements, punishing older customers and those without reliable internet access for not going paperless.

Close your checking or savings account within 90-180 days of opening and many banks hit you with a $25-$50 penalty, trapping customers in relationships they want to leave.

If someone writes you a bad check, your bank charges you up to $15 for depositing it — punishing the victim rather than the person who wrote the bounced check in the first place.

Leave a savings account untouched for 6-12 months and some banks begin draining it with $5-$10 monthly inactivity fees, slowly cannibalizing the very savings the account was meant to protect.

Distinct from overdrafts, NSF fees punish customers when the bank declines a transaction for insufficient funds — charging up to $35 for the privilege of not even processing the payment.

Customers get double-charged by both their own bank and the ATM operator, averaging $4.73 per withdrawal and effectively creating a toll booth for accessing your own money.

Major banks like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo charge $12-$25 per month just to keep an account open unless customers maintain minimum balances that many working families cannot afford.

Domestic wires cost $25-$30 and international wires run $40-$50 at most major banks, a staggering markup on transfers that cost the bank mere cents to process electronically.

A sneaky 3% surcharge on every purchase made abroad or in foreign currency, applied on top of already unfavorable exchange rates, that can add hundreds to the cost of international travel.

Some banks now charge $2-$5 per month for mailing paper statements, punishing older customers and those without reliable internet access for not going paperless.

Close your checking or savings account within 90-180 days of opening and many banks hit you with a $25-$50 penalty, trapping customers in relationships they want to leave.

If someone writes you a bad check, your bank charges you up to $15 for depositing it — punishing the victim rather than the person who wrote the bounced check in the first place.

Leave a savings account untouched for 6-12 months and some banks begin draining it with $5-$10 monthly inactivity fees, slowly cannibalizing the very savings the account was meant to protect.