Intent? That's irrelevant. One isn't lent money on their intention to repay. One is lent money on their signature, their sacred word. And when they don't pay back a mortgage loan, for example, they may not have intended to lower the property values of the homes in their neighborhood but that's just what they did. (And by lots more than $5/mo!!)And no, you're just confused. The $5/mo isn't to use your own money it's for the convenience of using a debit card. Used to be the merchant paid (and had an incentive to pass along as little of the fee as possible in order to be competitive with other businesses) but federal regulations required the banks to shift the burden directly to the retail consumer. Convenience isn't free. Somebody has to pay, otherwise how would a profit be made? How would employees be paid? Or stockholders?
Nah, the $5 isn't to use your money, it's a fee for service rendered.
It's the loser, thief, deadbeats who thought they could take advantage (in the case of mortgage loans, for example) of a government rigged (CRA) system.