Bank fees are sneakier than ever, but you can avoid most of them
In 2023, American consumers paid over $5.8 billion in overdraft or nonsufficient fund fees. While the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau continues to work to reduce overdraft fees and other miscellaneous fees that plague consumers, there are things you can do yourself to avoid paying pesky bank fees.
6 common bank fees to watch out for
Banks revolve around money. While banks and credit unions are places to store your cash and get federal deposit insurance, just having an open bank account can incur annoying fees.
These are some of the most common bank fees you’ll have to watch out for if you have a checking or savings account:
- Monthly maintenance fees are often between $5 and $25 per month and are charged just for having the account open.
- Overdraft or NSF fees are charged if you overdraft your bank account when you charge your card, often around $35 per incident.
- ATM fees can stack up. There are operator, out-of-network, and cash withdrawal fees to look out for. If you use an ATM outside of your bank’s network, you might pay anywhere from $3 to $5 and ATM operator fees, which are often another $3.
- Paper statement fees are somewhat outdated now, but a few banks still charge $5 per month to send you physical bank statements.
- Foreign transaction fees come up if you use your debit or credit card outside the US. Banks often charge foreign transaction fees and/or currency exchange fees, usually around 3% of the transaction, and a currency conversion fee of around 1.5% to 2%.
- Inactivity fees are charged if you’re not using your bank account regularly, and they may charge you per month of inactivity or just close the account.
How to avoid the 6 common bank fees
Luckily, there are ways to avoid these pesky fees and keep that cash in your bank account where it belongs.
1. How to avoid monthly maintenance fees
If your bank charges monthly maintenance fees, there might be ways to waive them.
Common maintenance fee waivers include meeting balance requirements, activity requirements (using your card a certain amount each month), or direct deposit requirements. For example, to waive the $12 Chase Total Checking account fee, you can deposit at least $500 per month or keep a balance of at least $5,000 or more.
Some accounts also waive monthly fees for seniors and/or students. The Axos Bank Golden Checking account has no monthly fees for seniors at least 55 years old, and the U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account waives the $6.95 monthly fee for seniors over the age of 65. Chase also has the Chase College Checking account, which normally charges $12 per month, but that fee is waived for students aged 17 to 24.
But if you’d rather avoid monthly fees altogether, just look for a bank account that doesn’t charge them from the jump. To help you look, know that most no-fee bank accounts come from online banks.
2. How to avoid overdraft fees
These fees are pricey, often around $30 each time you overdraft. And if you overdraft, it usually means you didn’t have enough funds to perform the transaction fully, so you’re getting charged for not having enough in the account — talk about an insult to injury.
To avoid overdraft fees, look for accounts without overdraft fees or that don’t allow you to overdraft at all. If you would like the ability to overdraft from time to time, these are accounts that pull funds from a linked account to cover the transaction. For example, the SoFi Checking and Savings account has a feature called Overdraft Coverage that automatically pulls money from your savings to your checking account to cover a transaction that would have resulted in an overdraft.
Additionally, some accounts, like the Chime Checking account, offer overdraft protection services like Chime SpotMe that “spots” you the overdrafted amount and pays itself back with your next direct deposit.
3. How to avoid ATM fees
The easiest way to avoid ATM fees is to simply use your bank’s proprietary ATM network — banks won’t charge you to use ATMs that they own since you’re their customer. Usually, banks include something called an ATM locator in their mobile banking app so you can find the closest ATM in your area.
Some banks, like Capital One, don’t charge you to use specific ATM networks like its own, MoneyPass and Allpoint ATMs. And if you’re a credit union fan, know that many don’t charge you if you use their ATM network or any other credit union’s ATM network.
Some top-tier bank accounts also offer ATM rebates or reimbursements if you do need to use an out-of-network ATM, such as Axos Bank or Ally Bank. Often, ATM rebates are sent to you at the end of each month, and are capped usually at around $10 in rebates per statement cycle.
4. How to avoid paper statement fees
Paper statement fees are among some of the easiest fees to waive.
Most banks and credit unions now waive the paper statement fee if you opt into e-statements. This means you’re telling the bank you don’t need physical paper statements each month, and they’ll waive the fee to print and mail those statements, and they’ll just email your statements or make them accessible to you in your mobile banking app.
5. How to avoid foreign transaction fees
This one is a little tricky, but we’ve got a few tips to waive foreign fees.
Some banks, like Discover, simply don’t charge foreign transaction fees on their debit or credit cards. Other international accounts, like Revolut’s bank accounts, don’t charge them either because Revolut’s accounts are specifically multi-currency accounts.
If your bank does charge foreign transactions fees and you don’t want to switch banks, consider carrying cash when you travel or check out traveler’s checks. Traveler’s checks are like regular paper checks, but they’re prepaid, fixed-denomination checks. Many banks offer them at branch locations.
Alternatively, there are prepaid travel cards you can buy, too. These cards let you choose a currency, load the cash in the denomination of your choice and make purchases without paying foreign transaction fees or worrying about carrying cash while you travel.
6. How to avoid inactivity fees
In most cases, banks charge inactivity fees when you’re not using an account for a certain amount of time. Other banks, such as Chase or Wells Fargo, may even close your account if you don’t use it for a year or more.
To avoid inactivity fees, either close the bank account (if you’re not really using it anymore) or set up an automatic transfer or direct deposit so that some activity is happening each month. Most banks and credit unions define “activity” as a deposit, withdrawal or purchase.
Alternatively, simply choose a bank that doesn’t charge you for not using it, such as SoFi, Capital One, or Discover.
Bottom line: Read the fine print
You don’t have to get nickel-and-dimed by your bank in 2025. A bank may say that its account is “fee-free,” but then hide behind tricky fine print (pun intended).
Before you choose a bank account, read through the account’s disclosures and fee schedules so you know what fees you may face and how to avoid them.
