Is Free Checking Coming to an End?

As banks look for ways to generate revenue lost to changes in financial regulation, one of the first things on the chopping block is free checking, reports the Wall Street Journal ($).

While checking account fees are nothing new, in the past decade they've largely been shelved to attract middle and low-income customers to banks. That push has been successful but no may be over.

The Wall Street Journal reports that to avoid fees, many bank customers will have to maintain an agreed-upon account balance and perhaps use other features of the bank, including debit and credit cards, ATMS and online accounts.

The fees associated with these accounts can range from a flat monthly amount to fees for writing checks to processing payments.

Bank of America has been testing a new pricing models throughout the country with the plan of rolling out official plans in 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal. Bank of America is the biggest bank, asset-wise, in the United States.