Revenue taken in by financial institutions from account-related charges to customers. Charges that generate fee income include non-sufficient funds fees, overdraft charges, late fees, over-the-limit fees, wire transfer fees, monthly service charges, account research fees and more. Credit unions, banks and credit card companies are types of financial institutions that earn fee income.
Financial institutions earn a significant portion of their income from fees, also called non-interest income. Interest income, which is money earned by lending out customers' deposits in the form of mortgages, small business loans, lines of credit, personal loans, student loans and by allowing customers to carry a credit card balance makes up another significant portion of financial institutions' income.