Credit card consumers are still reeling from the wild changes that banks made to accounts leading up to the CARD Act's February 22, 2010 effective date. And checking account customers have started getting confusing notices from their bank asking them to Opt-In for expensive overdraft programs, in response to the Fed's new rule restricting automatic overdraft programs. But despite these initial hardships, these two consumer protection laws will go a long way to help consumers avoid paying through the nose for unexpected and unfair fees and charges on their credit card and checking accounts.

A USA Today analysis found that these two laws will save consumers at least $5 billion in fees this year alone! The data used comes from projections made by the 10 largest retail depository institutions and the 10 largest holders of credit card receivables in the country.