14 Common Bank Fees That Customers Hate — And How to Avoid Them

Most of us keep our money in one or more bank accounts for safekeeping. But, banking comes at a cost.

Because they are a business, banks charge their customers a wide range of fees. Some of them are reasonable. Others, not so much. But have you ever looked at your monthly statement and wondered what the heck that fee was for? You’re not alone.

Many customers have expressed their disdain for banking fees, and these are the top common ones we found.

1. Minimum Balance

It’s very important to research the type of bank account you’re opening before you sign the forms. You want to make sure there’s no minimum account threshold, a balance you must keep to avoid being charged an extra fee.

Most of the time this is an average daily balance, which takes the weighted average of your account’s funds and ensures it doesn’t fall below the specified amount. To avoid this charge, make sure your balance stays above the limit.

2. Account Maintenance

This isn’t true of every bank, but some do charge an account maintenance fee. This is an amount usually ranging $4 to $25, depending on the institution you use.

The good news is there are usually ways to bypass it. Ask your bank’s account manager how to successfully avoid paying the maintenance fee. It might be as simple as having both a checking and savings account or maintaining a minimum balance.

3. Overdraft

Overdrafting means spending more money than you have in your account, and most banks charge a fee for letting the transaction go through. Some banks, however, take it even further and charge an extra fee for every single transaction that comes in after the initial overdraft.

While there’s no real way to avoid this, except asking your bank to overturn the fee if it happened once and you have a longstanding history with the institution, you can typically purchase overdraft protection.

4. Wire Transfer

Wire transfers are extremely convenient, you can send money to anyone anywhere in the world with one. However, if you go through your bank, be prepared to pay for the convenience.

You can avoid these fees by using your own bank account to transfer directly to someone else’s account, or you can use one of the many cash transfer apps available to you like Venmo or CashApp.

5. ATM

One fee customers really hate, myself included, is an ATM fee. You literally pay for the chance to take your money out of the bank. The fee varies, but it doesn’t end there. Sometimes, the company running the ATM charges a fee on top of that, so you’re getting hit twice.

You can avoid this by using ATMs in your bank’s network, or going to the bank to withdraw money directly.

6. Insufficient Funds

This is a bit different than overdraft, though it’s for almost the same reason. The bank will hit you with an insufficient funds fee if they have to cover any portion of your payment. For example, if you buy a $50 item and there’s only $40 in your account, your bank will let the charge go through, but hit you with a fee.

To avoid these fees, it’s best to keep up-to-date on your bank account balance, or at the very least, link your savings and checking and allow your institution to pull from one to cover the other.

7. Excessive Transactions

Some banks limit the number of transactions an account holder can carry out each month. If you go over this pre-set limit, they will charge you a fee.

The fee could vary between an individual one for each transaction or one total sum to cover the excess, like a monthly maintenance fee. Before you open an account make sure you’re aware of these limits.

8. Paper Statement

Most things are done electronically now, including bank statements. However, not everyone likes to view them online and opt for a paper statement.

If you opt for a paper statement, some banks will charge you for this convenience. Simply choose to receive yours electronically to avoid the fee. If you really want paper copies, print them out at home or at your local library—it will be cheaper.

9. Returned Deposit

This one is a bit of a doozy. You know if you try to write a check and it bounces, you get charged a fee. But imagine someone depositing money in your account, that payment bouncing and then you get charged a fee?

That’s what happens when banks charge returned deposit fees. The best way to avoid this is to not accept checks from people you don’t know. If you do, and it’s a large amount, ask for a certified check. Those don’t bounce because the banks guarantee they’ll be honored.

10. Inactivity

If you have a bank account you just don’t use, beware, you might get charged inactivity fees. It’s not common, but it does happen.

The best way to avoid this is to set up a small deposit or use your debit card once in a while to keep the account in “active” status.

11. Foreign Transactions

If you travel and use your debit card, chances are you’ll see some odd charges on the statement when you return home. Shopping overseas, for example, is sure to net you some foreign transaction charges.

The best way to avoid this is to use local currency. You can get some of their money (which is a cool keepsake after you’ve returned home), through an exchange, or you can use a credit card that doesn’t charge these fees and pay it off when you get home. I did the latter when I traveled to Spain and Ireland, and it was seamless.

12. Check Ordering

Checks aren’t all that common anymore, but some people do still use them as a means of paying people or for services. However, while your first order of checks may be free as a promotion for opening an account, your subsequent orders likely aren’t.

You can avoid these fees by simply using checks as a last resort—many service providers have cash apps or online payment systems.

13. Lost Card

Our debit cards are usually our lifeline when it comes to paying for things, but sometimes, we misplace them. If you lose yours outright, you will have to order a new one and that might come with a fee attached.

It’s worth noting if your card was stolen, you might be able to avoid the lost card fee by providing a police report.

14. Closing Your Account

If you make the decision to close your account, for whatever reason, be aware that some banks charge a fee to do so. This is usually the case with banks that offer you promotions, such as sign-on bonuses, to prevent you from opening, taking the cash, and then closing.

You can avoid these fees by keeping the account open the minimum stated time.