The $60 million Norristown Bell Credit Union is taking up the cudgel against a Philadelphia bank which is apparently playing hardball on charging CU members a $5 fee for cashiers' checks.

“They apparently have decided that these fees are pretty important to them,” said Helen Edwards in detailing a fee clash with the Sovereign Bank, a recently merged division of Madrid-based Santander Bank.

Norristown Bell had been a correspondent client of Sovereign for deposit services “but we're switching to MidAtlantic Corporate,” said Edwards in recounting how the bank in cashing the checks also tried to recruit new accounts from CU members. The bank waived the fee provided the CU member opened an account.

“One of their employees told us they simply look at credit unions as the competition,” Edwards said.  She said Norristown Bell is encouraging its members to cash checkers' checks at the CU and would be waiving fees as it encourages wider use of debit cards.