Huntington nixes $15 fee to help consumers

Huntington Bancshares is getting rid of another consumer fee as part of its “fair play” initiative launched more than a decade ago, this one that hits customers when they deposit a check that turns out to be bad.

Elimination of the $15 fee starts in February. It is expected to cost the bank $5 million per quarter, the bank said this month when it posted its financial results for the final three months of 2022.

Huntington had cut the fee in half last summer.

Brant Standridge, Huntington’s president of consumer business banking, said the move is meant to help consumers as the economy shows signs of sliding in recession.

“Times are challenging. There’s uncertainty,” he said.

As it has since Huntington started Fair Play Banking in 2010, the bank believes cutting fees for consumer and business customers helps build loyalty and that, in turn, brings in more business for the bank.

“This is another big step in that direction and making peoples’ lives better,’’ Standridge said.

One of the early programs was 24Hour Grace that gives consumers a full day to cover an overdraft before the bank institutes a fee. Other programs include fee-free checking accounts that come without conditions or a minimum balance.

More recently, the bank has introduced Standby Cash that provides a digital-only line of credit for eligible Huntington customers access to up to $1,000 with no interest or fees if they sign up for automatic payments and Early Pay that gives consumers access to qualified deposits two days early.

It also has introduced programs that help consumers save and manage their money.

The reduction in the fee comes as banks throughout the country are being criticized by legislators and regulators for the fees they charge.

The fees often hit low-income families and minority groups the hardest, said Greg Mcbride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has complained that such fees, which usually run from $10 to $19, are unfair and may violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act.

“Charging a fee to the depositor penalizes the person who could not anticipate the check would bounce, while doing nothing to deter the originator from writing bad checks,” the bureau said in guidance it issued last October on such fees.

“That’s a fee that can put customers off,” Mcbride said of the fee that Huntington is eliminating since the customer did nothing wrong. “Reversing course makes sense from a customer service standpoint.’’

mawilliams@dispatch.com