The great ATM rip-off! Cash machine fees reach record high as customers forced to pay $5 for a transaction: does YOUR city have the highest charges?
The big ATM rip-off! ATM fees hit an all-time high as customers are forced to pay $5 for a transaction: does YOUR city have the highest fees?
ATM fees have reached an all-time high as customers have to pay a $5 surcharge if they want to withdraw money from ATMs that are not owned by their regular bank.
A new analysis from financial website Bankrate found that consumers paid an average of $4.73 to use an out-of-network ATM, up 7 cents from last year.
Despite the spike, researchers noted that junk fees imposed by banks — including overdrafts — actually fell across the board.
When a customer withdraws money from an ATM that does not belong to his bank, he is billed twice: by his own company and by the provider of the machine.
This practice has previously drawn backlash from consumer rights experts, who have called for a crackdown on the rip-off charges.
ATM fees have hit an all-time high as customers average nearly $5 for a transaction, according to bankrate data
And it’s because customers face fewer ATMs as banks close their branches in record numbers.
Bankrate found that the average fee paid by the ATM owner was $3.15, compared to $3.14 last year. Meanwhile, charges imposed by a customer’s own bank had risen to $1.58.
The total average fee of $4.73 is now more than double what it was in 1998, when customers had to pay $1.97 for a transaction.
Bankrate’s chief financial analyst Greg McBride said: “ATM costs are rising faster than ever as the cost of out-of-network withdrawals hits a new all-time high.
“But because there’s less need for cash and the extensive ATM networks that make it easier than ever to stay in-network, the fees are easy to avoid and don’t often have to be a drain on your account.
The total average fee of $4.73 is now more than double what it was in 1998, when customers were charged $1.97 for a transaction
The number of ATMs in the US is down from 470,000 in 2019 to 451,500 by the end of 2022
The study also assessed which cites faced the highest fees on average.
Atlanta came out on top, with customers paying $5.33 per transaction.
It was followed by Phoenix, Detroit and Cleveland, which had $5.24, $5.21 and $5.13 respectively.
Among the cities with the cheapest fares are Boston and Philadelphia, where customers pay $4.24 and $4.31, respectively.
By comparison, overdraft fees are down 11 percent over the past year to $26.61.
It reflects a continued effort by banks to reduce or eliminate overdraft fees, which have been criticized for harming the country’s most vulnerable households, already under unprecedented financial pressure.
Figures from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) show that banks netted $1.6 billion in overdrafts in the fourth quarter of 2022 – less than half of the $3.1 billion they made in the same period in 2019. earned with this practice.
McBride said: ‘This practice has previously drawn backlash from consumer rights experts, who have called for a crackdown on the ‘rip-off’ charges.
“Choose overdraft protection on ATM withdrawals and petty dollar purchases, but check your available account balance before initiating transactions to avoid overdraft fees altogether.”