Perception of Fees

Perception of fees

Not all fees are viewed equally.

We asked customers to label types of common banking fees as convenience/service fees or penalty fees. Many financial consumers are accustomed to paying fees. However, different types of fees are perceived differently.
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According to the research, most banking customers view charges for overdraft and late payments as “penalty” fees. On the other hand, charges for account maintenance, wire transfers, person-to-person (P2P) payment transfers and mobile banking are all understood as “service” fees.

Indicate how you would classify each of the following types of bank fees:

Service Fee

Penalty Fee

Don't Know

Cashier's check / money order fees

72%

16%

12%

Wire transfer fees

72%

17%

12%

Monthly fees connected to account

Acct. Maint, etc.

65%

21%

14%

Foreign transaction

Currency Exchange

65%

19%

16%

Person-to-person

Zell, Venmo, etc.

63%

17%

20%

Mobile banking fees

59%

24%

17%

ATM usage fee

59%

29%

12%

Teller service fees

54%

25%

21%

Paper statement fees

50%

33%

17%

Overdraft fee

13%

78%

Late payment fees

10%

82%

Source: McGuffin/YouGov Banks, Customers and Fees survey, 2022

"Late payment fees are penalties for not following the agreed upon terms. You only have to pay them if you didn't hold up your end of the agreement.”

Surveyed Bank Consumer

Fees viewed as “penalties” are deemed fairer.

Respondents considered those fees that are assessed in response to a customer’s action (or inaction), such as overdrawing an account or being late on a loan payment, along with fees for occasional transactions (such as wire transfers, cashier’s checks and foreign transaction fees) as fairer than those fees associated with regular account usage/service (such as ATM, monthly maintenance and teller usage fees).

Rank each the following fees where 1 is the most fair and 11 is the least fair.

1 = Most fair

11 = Least fair

Late payment fees

4.4

Overdraft fees

4.7

Cashier's check / money order

5.1

Foreign transaction fees

(e.g., currency exchange)

5.1

Wire transfer fees

5.2

Monthly fees connected to an account

(i.e., Acct. Maintenance, etc.)

6.3

Person-to-person transfer fee

(e.g., Zelle, Venmo, etc.)

6.6

ATM usage fees

6.6

Paper statement fees

7.1

Mobile banking fees

7.3

Teller service fees

7.6

Source: McGuffin/YouGov Banks, Customers and Fees survey, 2022

Fee favorability varies by age.

Younger customers have less trust that their bank is transparent about fees.
70% of respondents 55+ say their bank is transparent about fees (net) vs. 44% of 18-34 year olds.
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In general, how people viewed fees varied by age group.
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Older customers are more averse to fees.
Respondents 55+ are more likely to choose “I hate paying these fees” for all fee types. Here’s how that group responded versus a younger demographic when asked about their distaste for certain fees:

On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you feel about paying a fee for each of the following?

% of people who selected
5 - “I hate paying this fee”

55+ y/os

18-34 y/os

Teller service fees

81%

44%

ATM fees

80%

57%

Paper statement fees

78%

48%

Mobile banking fees

77%

51%

Monthly service fees

71%

52%

Source: McGuffin/YouGov Banks, Customers and Fees survey, 2022

"How else can you get some cash except go to a teller or to be charged at the ATM? Unconscionable to be charged fees to gain access to your own money.”

Surveyed Bank Consumer

Next Section:

Fee fairness vs. fee frequency