Millions of Americans are already struggling with the cost of groceries, housing, insurance, and utilities. Yet according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, some of the nation’s largest banks are exploring ways to collect even more money from consumers through higher debit-card transaction fees.

The report says JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and PNC have discussed acquiring a payment network that could exempt them from the debit-card fee caps established under the Durbin Amendment. If successful, the move could allow banks to collect billions of dollars more in interchange fees from merchants, costs that often find their way back to consumers through higher prices.

Banks argue that fee income helps pay for free checking accounts, fraud protection, and debit-card rewards. That’s a fair point. But it also raises another question: At what point is enough enough?

Families are facing an affordability crisis. Inflation may have cooled, but the prices people pay every day remain far higher than they were just a few years ago. Consumers are being asked to stretch every dollar while some of the country’s most profitable financial institutions are looking for new ways to increase revenue.

It’s no surprise that frustration with corporate America continues to grow. When large companies appear focused on finding loopholes to charge more rather than ways to provide greater value, public trust erodes. That frustration doesn’t develop in a vacuum. It is fueled by stories like this one.

To be fair, these discussions are preliminary, and no deal has been announced. Some bank executives reportedly worry that pursuing such a strategy could trigger political and public backlash.

Perhaps they should. Businesses have every right to earn a profit, but they also have a responsibility to recognize the economic reality facing their customers. At a time when Americans are looking for relief, finding new ways to extract more money from their pockets sends exactly the wrong message.