Chase to end trials of 3 new bank fees

November 15, 2011: 6:39 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In addition to ending the trial of its controversial debit card usage fee this week, Chase will put an end to two other bank account fees that it has been testing in various parts of the country over the past 10 months.

Among the fees being pulled, is a $10 monthly checking account fee Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) has been testing in Oklahoma since February, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans. The fee, which cannot be waived through direct deposits or online banking requirements, was charged to new customers who set up basic checking accounts.

The bank is also dropping a $15 monthly checking account fee it was testing in Atlanta that can only be waived if a customer maintains a minimum daily balance of at least $1,500.

The third, and most controversial, test is the $3 debit card usage fee that Chase applied to customers in northern Wisconsin to help the bank decide whether to roll it out nationwide. In the face of mass customer outrage,Chase announced at the end of October it would scrap this fee, which spurred a wave of other banks -- including Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), SunTrust (STI, Fortune 500) and Regions (RF, Fortune 500) -- to follow suit and cancel similar fees.

All three of these fees will end on November 19, the source said.

When the tests end, no new customers will be able to sign up for the accounts with the $10 and $15 fees attached to them. Customers already enrolled in these accounts, however, will need to opt out of them and switch to the checking accounts Chase offers nationwide.

These accounts will enable customers to waive a $12 monthly fee by making either direct deposits totaling at least $500 or maintaining a $1,500 minimum daily balance or an average daily balance of $5,000 or more between linked deposits or investments, all options that were not previously available to them.

'I'm addicted to my big bank'

Chase would not disclose the number of customers who incurred fees due to these tests.

If you live in one of the three states where the charges have been tested, November should be the last month you will see these charges show up on your statement as long as you opt out.

That may be little solace for the customers who doled out cash for these fees when the trials were taking place. Customers who opened basic checking accounts in Oklahoma, for example, spent $100 on the aren't waivable checking account fee over 10 months.

There's no word yet on whether these customers will be refunded.

The conclusion of Chase's fee-testing follows a nationwide, social media-fueled movement earlier this month urging customers to dump big banks and move their money to small community banks and credit unions. The initiative led to more than $5 billion in new deposits being transferred to credit unions(according the the industry association).

Correction: The story previously stated customers in Oklahoma are being charged a $12 monthly checking account fee. The fee is actually $10. To top of page

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