Local

Bank of America to boost minimum wage to $20 an hour in 2020

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America is bumping up pay earlier than originally planned.

Monday, the Charlotte-based bank said its minimum hourly pay rate will jump from $17 an hour to $20 by the end of the first quarter of 2020.

The bank's original goal was to reach $20 an hour by 2021. The bank said by bumping up its timeline, it is sharing the company's success with its employees.

According to CNN, Bank of America is not the first bank to boost the minimum wage for its employees this year. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase also raised their wages.

"These wage increases are happening despite fears of increased automation and the shift to online services in the banking industry," senior economist at Glassdoor Daniel Zhao told CNN. "Bank tellers play a critical role in the customer relationship and these pay increases reflect the importance of a company's frontline workers in today's tight labor market."

Officials said Bank of America employees also got a raise when the minimum wage was increased to $15 an hour two years ago.