The term bank charge covers all charges and fees made by a bank to their customers. In common parlance, the term often relates to charges in respect of personal current accounts or checking account. These charges may take many forms, including:
monthly charges for the provision of an account
charges for specific transactions (other than overdraft limit excesses)
interest in respect of overdrafts (whether authorised or unauthorised by the bank)
charges for exceeding authorised overdraft limits, or making payments (or attempting to make payments) where no authorised overdraft exists
Much of the following discussion relates to the UK personal current account market.