Bank of America has said that it's not planning to increase checking account fees for existing customers, and only testing checking account fees for new customers.

News reports yesterday said that Bank of America was working on requirements that customers with basic checking accounts pay a monthly fee unless they bank online, buy more products or maintain a certain balance. Bank of America says such fees would only apply to new accounts.

Since January 2011, Bank of America has been testing checking account fees attached to new accounts in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts. In a statement, Bank of America said that it is "continuing to learn from those tests and has not made any decisions about when, how, or if we would change our fees on new accounts."

Last fall, Bank of America scrapped plans for a $5 debit-card fee after customer revolt and public criticism. Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, called on Bank of America to nix plans for this latest fee as well.

According to our analysis, you can expect banks to continue to experiment with fee increases as they try to make up billions in lost revenue due to new regulations and the bad economy.

For tips on avoiding bank fees see Fight Back Against Your Bank and Watch for new bank fees.

Previously:
Bank of America planning new fee attached to basic checking accounts
Fees and bad service mean even more people switching banks

Bank of America: New Fees for New Accounts Only [Market Watch]