Bank of America Takes on Payday Lenders 

  • Checking-account customers can borrow up to $500 for a $5 fee
  • Regulators have been urging banks to start offering the loans
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Bank of America Corp. plans to offer some of its customers access to short-term loans, the latest blow to the payday-lending industry.

Customers who have had checking accounts for more than a year can apply to borrow as much as $500 for a flat $5 fee, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender said Thursday in a statement. The bank will require that the advance, available in increments of $100, be paid back in three equal installments over 90 days.