Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit is expected to launch an online discount brokerage service on Monday, according to news reports.

The service, called Merrill Edge, will target clients with $250,000 or less in investable assets and compete directly with TD Ameritrade, E*Trade Financial, Charles Schwab  and Fidelity Investments.

Customers of Merrill Edge will pay up to $8.95 a trade depending on the size of their accounts, Dean Athanasia, head of banking and the direct investment division for Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management told Bloomberg in an interview yesterday.

Customers with at least $25,000 in total banking and brokerage accounts will get 30 free equity trades a month, Athanasia added.

In addition, approximately 500,000 existing Bank of America online brokerage clients will be transferred to the new service throughout the summer.

This publication was unable to get a comment from BofA/Merrill Lynch at the time of going to press.