Citigroup is saying goodbye to overdraft fees.



Following the move by Bank of America and others to eliminate or reduce OD charges, Citigroup says it is following suit, making it the biggest U.S. bank make the change.

By this summer, Citi plans to get rid of overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds fees and overdraft protection fees.

The changes mean Citi will be the only one among the top five U.S. retail banks by assets to abolish the fees that have come under fire from consumer groups.

In a statement announcing its move, Citibank said it is also offering two services, Safety Check and Checking Plus, to help cover negative balance transactions, including an Access Account Package, a checkless account package with “low or avoidable monthly charges that provides customers with a simple, transparent way to manage their finances.”

The nation’s fourth-largest bank said it will also offer the Common Sense Protection Measures, where it will not authorize ATM or point-of-sale debit transactions in cases when funds are not available, and Low Balance Alerts where customers can enroll through their mobile devices or online.

‘More Equitable’

According to Gonzalo Luchetti, the chief executive of U.S. personal banking at Citi, the move is designed “to make the financial system easier and more equitable for communities who have little or no financial buffer.”

Following a move by ELGA Credit Union, Citi joins a growing list of banks and credit unions making changes or outright eliminating overdraft fees amid pressure from lawmakers in Congress and growing competition from online rivals, CNN noted.

According to the CFPB, the U.S. banking industry’s revenue from overdraft and insufficient funds was $15.47 billion in 2019, according to an estimate.

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