Watch Out! Bank Fees Are Bigger and Badder

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Unless you’ve been locked in a vault, you know that the banking industry isn’t doing so hot. Faced with declining revenues, banks are creating or increasing all sorts of fees on its customers.

As The Washington Post reports, minimum balance requirements are being raised and ATM fees are hitting the roof at the likes of Bank of America and Citibank. Many banks are also making it easier for customers to spend more than what’s in their accounts—so that the bank can assess more fees.

One way of avoiding the fees is to head to the Internet. Most online banks are far more reasonable than their brick-and-mortar cousins. Minimum balances are low or nonexistent, interest rates are better, and fees are far and few between with online banks like KeyDirect and IngDirect. Check out “7 Great Online Bank Deals” at Kiplingers.