Answer:
You can charge a fee for doing anything that the law does not already require you to do. In general, you are not required to cash checks that are not drawn on your institution regardless of whether or not the payee is a customer. While I don't quite understand why you would or would not charge a fee based on whether there is an equal amount of money in the customer's account, you are entitled to make the distinction.
Reg DD requires that you disclose fees "in connection" with the account and requires advance notice of any new fees that fall into that category. My opinion is that this is not a fee in connection with the account. Even though the fee might only affect account holders, the transaction, including the fee, will not appear on the customer's statement.
First published on BankersOnline.com 5/08/06
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