A Capital One bank in Midtown Manhattan in 2020.
Noam Galai—Getty Images

In December, Capital One became the first major U.S. bank to announce that it was completely eliminating overdraft and insufficient-fund fees, which accounted for $150 million of Capital One’s $30.4 billion in revenue last year. Such fees typically run around $25 to $35 each but cost Americans over $15 billion in total annually. They can be particularly devastating for families living on the financial edge, who frequently get dinged with these fees yet are least likely to have the means to pay them. After Capital One’s trendsetting move—and amid regulatory pressure—other top U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, announced plans to follow suit.

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Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.

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