Ready to pay $7 a month for your checking account?

Wells Fargo customers in six east coast states will be hit with the fee on previously free accounts beginning in May.

The states affected are: Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut. Customers in these states can avoid the fee by keeping a minimum balance of $1,500 or making direct deposits of at least $500 a month.

California and other western states were transitioned to the $7 fee last year.

"This has been a gradual change -- we've notified many customers that this change would be happening, and this is another extension of that," a Wells Fargo spokeswoman told CNN. "We want our customers to come in and talk to us and make sure they are in the right account and getting the options they need."

The bank refused to comment on whether more states will eventually be included in the fee rollout.