Forgive me bankers, I failed to read the fine print.

When I opened a new savings account online with JPMorgan Chase & Co. about a month ago, I refused to read the terms associated with my banking product. At the time, I figured, what’s to know? I would put money into the account and earn about a cent or so a month in interest to work toward my apartment aspirations of buying new objects like bar stools, a projection screen, a better bed and a lamp from Japan.

About two weeks into my goal, I took a chunk out from my look-prettier-apartment savings to book a ticket to Vegas and celebrate my friend’s 30th birthday. I could save later. When I checked in about a week later with my Chase account, I managed to execute the unthinkable: I lost $4 in a fee for dipping below a threshold the bank set that I never bothered to look into. That’s sad.

Though I’m the fool for failing to read my contract, I’m tired by all these fees that are only gaining momentum among banks. I mean, I get it: Interest rates are low and new regulations are costly, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: fee-ing consumers for services that add no value is a way to lose business. And Chase lost mine, though I’m sure it was happy to cut ties. The fee may have been my fault, and the bank needs to make money, but paying fees to save my own money is not part of my personal plan.

That’s why I’m encouraged by yesterday’s news that more banks are simplifying their checking account disclosures, products that really rack up the fees.

The Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack reports:

Citigroup is expected to announce this month that it will join more than a half-dozen financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank, that have already adopted a version of a one-page disclosure form created last year by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia. Bank of America, the largest bank in Massachusetts, confirmed it plans to introduce a similar summary later this year.

The more obvious the fees are, the more likely consumers will know the terms of their banking relationships. Better transparency can only be good for the long term banking business. As they say: In relationships, communication is everything.