Debit card overdrafts

In a significant policy reversal, the USA's largest bank plans will stop allowing consumers to overdraw their checking accounts with one-time debit card transactions.

Bank of America's (BAC) new policy — which takes effect in mid-June for new customers and early August for existing customers — comes amid intense public scrutiny of financial institutions' overdraft fees. In 2009, banks earned about $38.5 billion from overdraft and insufficient-funds fees, estimates Moebs Services, an economic research firm.

Congress is weighing legislation to crack down on these fees. And the Federal Reserve has issued a rule that requires financial institutions to get consumers' consent before charging them to pay certain debit card and ATM overdrafts.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2010-03-10-bankoverdraft10_ST_N.htm

If you don't let banks charge fees to those who bounce checks (and a "debit card overdraft" is a bounced e-check) by spending money they don't have in their accounts, those of us who don't bounce checks with regularity will suffer when we make our once a decade mistake.