Bank of America Corp. has eliminated a free checking account popular with some lower-income customers, requiring them to keep more money at the bank to avoid a monthly fee.

This month, all remaining eBanking customers with the Charlotte, N.C., lender were switched into accounts that charge a $12 monthly fee unless the customer has a direct deposit of $250 or more or a minimum daily balance of $1,500. Some eBanking customers were switched over as early as 2015.

Banks have long grappled with how to charge customers for basic checking services. The accounts are costly for banks to maintain, though they do bring in revenue through overdraft and other fees.

Some customers are unhappy about Bank of America’s latest move. A petition protesting the change has garnered more than 45,000 signatures on Change.org.

Kou Lo, a 28-year-old artist in the Atlanta area, closed her Bank of America checking account last week after she learned that she would be switched out of the eBanking account she had used for years. “I was just like, ‘I’m done,’ ” she said.