ATM usage fees

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article or section uses abbreviations that may be confusing or ambiguous.
To meet Wikipedia's quality standards and be more accessible to a general audience, this article or section may require cleanup.
Please improve the article or discuss changes on the talk page. (help)

ATM Usage Fees are the fees many banks and interbank networks charge for the use of their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). In some cases, these fees are assessed solely for non-members of the bank; in other cases, they apply to all users. Many people oppose these fees because ATMs are actually less costly for banks than withdrawals from human tellers.

Two types of consumer charges exist: the surcharge and the foreign fee. The surcharge fee may be imposed by the ATM deployer and will be charged to the consumer using the machine. The foreign fee or transaction fee is a fee charged by the card issuer (financial institution, stored value provider) to the consumer for conducting a transaction outside of their network of machines in the case of a financial institution.

Contents

[edit] Australia

Westpac started charging $2 AUD for foreign customers in 2006, higher than the standard $1.50 charge.[1]

[edit] Canada

A short description of the fee structure one experiences while using Canadian ATMs can be found at the Interac website. [2]

Before the presence of White Label ATMs, most Canadian customers were only charged the standard Interac Network Transaction Fee when a customer was using an ATM not provided by the Bank that held their account (historically $0.75 CAD, now $1.50 CAD). As the Interac network was opened up to more ISOs and the potential for additional revenue from Service Fees were made available, most Banks elected to impose the Service Fee in addition to the revenue that was generated from the Interac fee.[3]

[edit] European Union

Rules are being introduced that will force banks to levy equal fees for customers of all banks in the European Union. This may mean national fees become higher. See Single Euro Payments Area.

[edit] Netherlands

ATM fees in the Netherlands are free. But you can only draw cash at another bank's ATM once a day, and there is a lower limit.

[edit] Spain

Banks that are not associated with the user's bank will usually charge a fee of €0.50 per withdrawl of cash from the machine. Other services such as top-up of mobile phones are usually free.

[edit] United Kingdom

Public reaction to proposed increases in fees was so strong in 1999 after a campaign launched by Nationwide Building Society and the UK tabloid newspapers that fees were removed altogether for using ATMs at banks, regardless of whether the user is a customer of that bank. [4][5] However, each time a bank's customer uses a rival bank's ATM, the customer's bank has to pay a fee to the rival bank, which the customer's bank absorbs.[6]

There are a growing number of machines in locations such as garages, nightclubs and other venues which do charge transaction fees. The fee charged in 2005 was usually between £1.00 and £1.50[7], but occasionally they have been known to charge up to £5[8] and £10 [9]. There has been some debate in recent years about the location of machines which charge in deprived areas, where the larger banks which would have provided free ATMs have closed branches.[10] Rules surrounding the requirement of ATMs to display any fees incurred by the consumer were clarified in 2005.[11][12]

[edit] United States

Before surcharging was allowed in 1996, ATM fees averaged $1.01 USD nationally, according to a 2001 report from the US-based State Public Interest Research Group.[13]

As banks and third parties realized the profit potential they raised the fees. ATM fees now commonly reach $2.00 (2003) [14], and can be as high as $6.00 [15], or even higher in cash-intensive places like bars and casinos. In cases where fees are paid both to the bank (for using a "foreign" ATM) and the ATM owner (the so-called "surcharge") total withdrawal fees could potentially reach $11.

ISO's are the driving force in ATM deployment in the U.S. today representing over 60% of the 396,000 ATMs nationwide. Some have expressed concerns that the U.S. market is becoming too saturated, spreading the resulting fee pool too thin, which may result in a future net decrease in the number of machines.[16] Other media reports indicate that growth in ATM usage has decreased, possibly in relation to the amount of fees imposed by Banks.[17]

Only some fees charged by ATMs are advertised. This is more of a cautionary statement, as ATMs are required by law to inform you of the surcharge fees that the machine will charge you. This information may come in the push through menu or it may be on a sticker on the machine. However, the "foreign ATM network" fee will not be listed as neither the ATM nor its owner charges this fee. The account holder's Bank will impose the "foreign ATM network" fee (on top of any other withdrawal fees they may charge), which means customers should be aware of the details of their Bank's fee structures, which may also vary state by state.

A new charge that has come into the marketplace is the "Denial Fee", where a customer is charged a fee for attempting to withdraw more money that they are either allowed through their daily withdrawal limit or by having insufficient funds in their account. [18]

While many consumers are faced with multiple fees as described above, a number of standalone and internet banks, such as USAA and E*Trade Bank, among others, provide rebates of ATM-owner fees. Thus, customers at some banks in the US can avoid ATM fees altogether.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://moneymanager.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/13/1139679526201.html
  2. ^ http://www.interac.org/en_n2_22_fees.html
  3. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/money/atm/index.html
  4. ^ http://www.ciobs.org.uk/scottish_banker/pdf/Nov1999_27.pdf
  5. ^ http://money.cnn.com/1999/09/23/europe/barclays/
  6. ^ http://www.link.co.uk/atm/joining/mn_fees.html
  7. ^ http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/1220051323.htm
  8. ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmtreasy/191/191.pdf
  9. ^ http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/money/campaigns/Banking%20and%20credit/ATM%20charges/Cash_machines_560_54911.jsp
  10. ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2005300000-2006330388,00.html
  11. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4640317.stm
  12. ^ http://www.link.co.uk/press/2006/mn_press_release_100406.htm
  13. ^ http://www.stopatmfees.com/report01/report01.pdf
  14. ^ http://www.doveconsulting.com/PR-2004-05-21CPPS.htm
  15. ^ http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6547551p-6397866c.html
  16. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5529813/
  17. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/02/13/focus2.html?t=printable
  18. ^ http://redtape.msnbc.com/2005/10/now_even_atm_de.html
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/t/m/ATM_usage_fees_ecc8.html"