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Bank of America is the first major bank to end the practice of overdraft fees on debit cards.

The New York Times has the report, calling the development the end of “$40 cup of coffee.”

Before the recent credit card reform, overdraft protection was a “service” offered by most banks. Customers were often automatically given the service, which would charge them a fee to allow a purchase to go through even if they lacked adequate funds in their account.

However, this practice caused many problems for consumers. For example, if when buying coffee consumers went only one cent over their account limit, they could be hit with a $40 fee.

Banks claimed their service protected the consumers from the “embarrassment” of having a card declined. But, Bank of America said their customers only wanted the protection when it came to bill payments, such as mortgages. From the story:

“What our customers kept telling me is ‘just don’t let me spend money that I don’t have,’ ” said Susan Faulkner, the bank’s deposit and card product executive, who said the overdraft changes were part of a broader push to build trust among its customers. “We wanted to help them avoid those unexpected overdraft fees.”

But those fees are big business for banks, generating almost $20 billion for banks last year.

Bank of America is the country’s largest issuer of debit cards, but it is unclear if other banks will follow their lead.

This is just the latest of many changes in the credit card and debit card industry since the new credit card laws were passed in May of 2009. The laws required banks to only offer overdraft protection to customers who opt in to the service. If you’re not sure whether you opted in to this service, check your most recent credit card bill or contact your card company.