Introducing A La Carte Checking

From the Wall Street Journal

Welcome to a la carte checking, a kinder and gentler way for banks to charge for basic services. By adopting the approach, Frost and another large lender, Union Bank out of San Francisco, are hoping to steer clear of the industry's fee-levying pitfalls, such as some rivals' abortive attempts to charge for debit-card use.

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A "kinder and gentler way" to charge a fee doesn't make the fee any better.