The $5 per month Community Bank is offering anyone who opens a Value Checking account is a direct response to the $3 to $5 monthly debit card fees larger banks are starting to charge, bank officials said.

"We needed to do something to help consumers who are under attack from behemoth national banks charging fees that just don't make sense," said Katie Pembles, Community Bank president. "People have a choice of where to bank, and at Community Bank, we thought paying people $5 per month rather than charging them $5 per month was a good way to set us apart."

Pembles said Community Bank "doesn't think we have to charge $5 a month to make an account profitable."