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More banks charging
(higher) ATM fees --
but there's good ATM news at the grocery store
By Holden
Lewis • Bankrate.com
 More
banks than ever are charging you ATM surcharge fees.
And the average surcharge fee is rising.
According to the latest Bankrate.com survey,
83.3 percent of banks charge noncustomers for using ATMs. A year
ago that figure was 68.7 percent.
Using cutting-edge cash-extraction technology
developed by some of the nation's leading banks, financial institutions
skillfully removed $1.9 billion from consumers for using ATMs last
year.
The rash of surcharges is spreading; Bankrate.com
forecasts that consumers will pay $2 billion for using ATMs in 2000.
The epidemic financial procedure strips consumers
first of their money and eventually, in many cases, their patience.
Last year, annoyed voters approved various referendums that sought
to curb or ban ATM surcharges, but the federal government stepped
in on banks' behalf and the laws were invalidated.
Public
outcry goes unheard
"The public outcry over ATM surcharging has not deterred institutions
one bit," says Greg McBride, financial analyst for Bankrate.com.
"Surcharges are more prevalent now and are hitting consumers even
harder than before."
Usually you get surcharged for using an ATM
operated by a bank where you don't have an account. Most commonly
the bank that runs the ATM charges you $1.50. Some banks charge
less, some more -- but Bankrate.com's research shows that the average
surcharge to noncustomers continues to increase, from $1.33 in October
1998 to $1.36 in March 1999 to $1.38 in October 1999, and now $1.41.
Most banks charge their own customers for using
another institution's ATM, so you're usually hit by fees from two
banks when you withdraw money from a "foreign" ATM. The average
fee for using another institution's ATM has climbed to $1.35, up
4 cents from a year ago, according to the survey.
You can inoculate yourself from surcharges a
number of ways:
- Use only ATMs belonging to your bank. This
might be practical if you have an account with a big bank with
lots of ATMs.
- If you have an account at a smaller institution,
find out if it belongs to a surcharge-free ATM network of other
smaller banks and credit unions.
- Make fewer trips to the ATM. Some institutions,
especially Internet-only banks, will reimburse you for the first
$5 or $6 of ATM surcharges you rack up each month. You might avoid
surcharges if you go to the ATM just three or four times a month.
Grocery
store saviors
If it's just too much hassle to take the above steps, your prognosis
looks bad. But a cure could be right around the corner -- at your
neighborhood grocery.
Banks increasingly allow customers to use their
ATM cards surcharge-free at point-of-sale terminals -- the ones
you swipe your card through at the supermarket checkout. A year
and a half ago, 73 percent of financial institutions allowed free
point-of-sale transactions (POS); today the Bankrate.com survey
shows that number has climbed to 82 percent.
So when the cashier asks, "Would you like cash
back?" four-fifths of ATM cardholders can nod, knowing that they're
not paying a surcharge for the privilege.
"If you know how much money you spend in a week,
take out that amount" at the supermarket, counsels Karen Christie,
Bankrate.com's research director.
And you can walk out of that store with a lighter
heart, heavier wallet and healthier finances.
-- Posted: March 20, 2000
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