More banks charging for checking: How to dodge the fees

Free checking is getting harder to come by at some of the nation's biggest banks. Recent regulatory changes have forced banks to be more upfront about the fees they charge deposit and credit card customers; as a result, consumers are better able to avoid those fees, which has led to a loss of revenue for banks. And so in an effort to recoup some of those revenues, some have started rolling back what was considered as recently as a few years ago to be practically a birthright: the free checking account.

As this article points out, the biggest changes are coming from the biggest banks. Bank of America, for instance, recently rolled out an account that costs users just under $9 each month if they want the privilege of banking with a real, human teller or getting hard copies of their statements. As a Bank of America spokeswoman pointed out, customers who previously had "free" checking would wind up paying for it via fees, sometimes which they incurred without asking.