BofA squeezes another buck out of noncustomers

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

It's the fee everybody loves to hate, and it's going up - the little ding to your wallet when you use an ATM at a bank where you're not a regular customer.

Bank of America is leading the way, pushing up its ATM charge for noncustomers to $3 from $2 at 10,700 of its cash machines across the country as of last July. Other big banks are expected to follow suit.

Like late charges on credit card bills and service costs for concert tickets, the extra bite at the ATM is a prime example of one of modern life's many nuisance fees. It's the kind of thing that makes ordinary people feel helpless in the face of big corporations.

You now know why Bank of America wants to keep Wal-Mart out of the banking business.Less competition means higher fees.