John,

Tonight in his State of the Union address, President Biden is widely expected to talk about how his policies (including an expanded Child Tax Credit) help families and how we must ensure that rich individuals and corporations pay more of their fair share of taxes.

He will also remind the American people about his administration’s campaign to take on corporate junk fees, which tack on extra costs to basics like rent payments as well as everything from airline and concert tickets to meals.¹

This week, the White House announced it will seek to cap credit card late fees at $8, down from the average late fee of $32.²

And, right now, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is accepting comments on another new junk fee rule that could cap bank overdraft fees at $3.

Combined, junk fees cost American consumers roughly $10 billion a year.³ They are so lucrative for banks and greedy corporations that one former bank CEO even named his boat “Overdraft.”⁴

Bank overdraft fees are an especially outrageous way to jack up bank profits by gouging many people with low incomes. Click here to submit an official comment to the Biden administration in support of their new, proposed junk fee rule that would hold banks accountable to low-income and working people.

The CFPB estimates that this new rule, capping bank overdraft fees, would save consumers $3.5 billion a year. It would mark an important step towards just and equitable banking since the group of people most impacted by overdraft fees are low-income, Black, and brown people.

In some cases, overdraft fees reach as high as $39 per transaction.

Click here to send an official comment to the CFPB today urging implementation of the new junk fees rule, and urging the administration to cap overdraft fees at just $3.

Together, we’re taking on greedy banks and corporations that are bleeding low-income and working people dry.

Thank you for taking action today,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes on Junk Fees in Rental Housing to Lower Costs for Renters
² Biden administration would cap credit card late fees at $8, part of campaign against junk fees
³ Taking on junk fees is popular. But can it win Biden more voters?
⁴ A former bank CEO named his boat ‘Overdraft.’ Now that bank is in hot water over the fees.