Chase may require you to pay for free services such as a checking account

• Chase Bank’s chief executive warned that new federal fee limits could make everyday banking more expensive.
• Marianne Lake said the bank plans to pass on the burden of lost profits to customers.
• Services that are currently free, such as checking accounts and financial tools, may incur new fees.

Everyday banking services could become more expensive for consumers.

Marianne Lake, CEO of Chase Bank’s retail and community banking division, said federal regulations that limit overdraft and late payment fees will hurt the company’s bottom line.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it warned that those losses would be passed on to consumers.

Lake said the changes would be “broad, radical and significant,” the report says.

Some of these costs would be added to services that were previously free, such as checking accounts and financial planning tools, the report said.

Business Insider reviewed a Chase presentation that covered the expected impact of the proposed regulations. The presentation estimated that two out of three consumers would face a fee on their checking accounts if the limit was implemented.

Lake also added that those “who can least afford it” will be hit, and access to credit will also be more difficult.

Some of the rules include a proposed $8 cap on late fees for credit cards and a $3 cap on overdrafts on bank accounts. The cap is part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to crack down on hidden fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that about 45 million people are charged late fees on their credit cards each year, and this change could save those people up to $220 a year.

Other changes include capping debit card fees and the fees banks can charge apps like Venmo and CashApp for accessing customer data, the report said.

The new regulations would also make it harder for banks to lend money by requiring banks to set aside more money in reserves. That could make it harder for borrowers to qualify for loans in the future.

Chase is the largest bank in the U.S. and is also one of the largest credit card issuers in the country. But other banks are expected to follow suit — and several have already issued warnings.

According to the Merchants Payments Coalition, Mastercard announced in April that I plan to increase some credit card fees.

Citi Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said during a January earnings conference call that the bank plans to make up lost revenue through “compensation and mitigation measures,” which he did not specify.

Capital One CEO Rich Fairbank said in January that the new rules would hit the company’s profits and that “mitigating actions” would be implemented to address them.

UBS analysts wrote in a note to investors in April that capping late payment fees on credit cards and card swipe fees, as well as lowering debit card swipe fees, would prompt companies like JPMorgan Chase and American Express to look elsewhere for revenue sources.

This is not the first time that banks have threatened to make consumers bear the costs of new regulations.

After the 2008 financial crisis, banks threatened to cap card fees if Congress approved legislation to limit swipe fees. But those threats were bluffs; few institutions followed through on the promise when customers themselves said they would simply switch banks.

But now that Biden is taking decisive action against credit card companies, banks may well make good on their word — especially if they all decide to add new costs to consumers, giving them no room to maneuver.