Discover just eliminated all banking fees. Here’s why that’s a big deal
You might be surprised by what is now free for the bank's account holders.
Discover just announced that it is eliminating all fees on its checking and savings accounts, as well as its CDs and money market accounts. Discover’s customers will no longer pay maintenance fees, overdraft charges, stop-payment fees, and more. Even checks are free.
Discover will charge no deposit account fees whatsoever
Discover is eliminating fees on all of its deposit accounts, including checking, savings, CDs, and money market accounts. This means there will be no maintenance fee associated with any of the accounts, nor will there be any charges for overdrafts, excessive withdrawals, or stop-payment requests.
Just for a bit of context, the average checking account in the U.S. comes with a maintenance fee of about $13.50. And while there is usually some way to eliminate the monthly fee — such as by maintaining a certain minimum balance, directly depositing a certain amount of money, or using their debit card for a certain number of purchases — many people simply can’t make it happen month after month.
While monthly fees are still very much alive among major banks, it’s become quite common for online-only banks to offer no maintenance fees on their online checking accounts. That said, the elimination of all deposit account fees is a rarity. For starters, the elimination of overdraft fees is welcome news. The average overdraft in the U.S. for branch-based checking accounts is well over $30 (Discover’s fee was previously $30), so this could be a money-saver for many people.
