Banks cave on debit card fees: A victory for Occupy?

As consumers say good riddance to the unpopular new fees, some offer a big thank you to the clamorous Occupy movement

Occupy Wall Street protesters walk by the J.P. Morgan Chase building in New York City: Large banks, including Chase, are backing off highly unpopular debit card fees, perhaps because of the O
(Image credit: JUSTIN LANE/epa/Corbis)

Starting late last week, large banks began killing off new monthly fees for debit card holders. Chase and Wells Fargo were first, with the trend spreading to regional banks like SunTrust on Monday. Even Bank of America, whose $5 monthly fee stirred up widespread consumer outrage, appears to be backing off. "Progressive bloggers are celebrating and crediting Occupy Wall Street" for the change of heart, says Tim Mak at Politico. But is it really fair to score this a victory for the amorphous Occupy movement?

Yes. Give Occupy its victory lap: "For a movement without an agenda, Occupy Wall Street is off to a pretty good start," says Dan Freed at The Street. Sure, the leaderless, agenda-less Occupiers didn't specifically demand that big banks abandon the debit card fees. But "it does not take a genius to figure out" that this is the kind of greed Occupiers are protesting against, and that the movement's glaring spotlight generated the needed heat to melt the banks' resolve.

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