US banks billed their customers 24 billion dollars in penalty fees for overdrawing their accounts last year, a 35 percent increase over the previous year, a study has found. Rather than deny payment, most banks in the United States routinely approve transactions not covered by funds but charge customers an average fee of 34 dollars each time. Fees are charged whether the overdraft is for five dollars or 50 dollars, under overdraft protection programs in which customers are automatically enrolled, the study found.

Read the full article (hosted by Google News).