Bank of America customers can no longer can use eBanking checking accounts free of charge if their daily balances fall below $1,500, the bank said. File photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Bank of America has eliminated free checking accounts for eBanking customers with low balances.

On Sunday, the company moved all of its remaining eBanking customers to accounts that charge a $12 monthly fee -- unless the customer carries an average daily balance of at least $1,500 or $250 or more in direct deposits each month.


In 2010, Bank of America introduced the accounts with no fees if the transactions and received statements were handled online. Previously, the minimum fee for any account was $8.95.

In 2013, company stopped offering the fee-free accounts and customers started to be switched over two years later.

More than 45,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org protesting the change.

Customers using eBanking were charged to use human tellers for routine transactions.

"Over the years we've been simplifying and streamlining our products," Betty Reiss, manager of consumer banking products and channels, told the Charlotte Business Journal. "The core checking account provides full access to all our financial centers, ATMs, mobile and online banking, and it also offers several ways to avoid a monthly fee."

Reiss said Bank of America's core checking model is competitive with other banks.