Tony Luong, The New York Times

Keri Fitzpatrick at home in Peterborough, N.H., June 18, 2021. Like most Americans, Keri Fitzpatrick uses a checking account that assesses a fee for payments that cause the account to drop below zero — but a number of banks are offering alternatives.

June 22, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.

Banks slowly offer alternatives to overdraft fees, a bane of struggling spenders

An increasing number of banks are introducing services, including grace periods and small short-term loans, that provide less-punitive alternatives