Beating the System
Jan 05 '00 (Updated Jan 11 '00)
Banks are starting to charge non-customers for ATM use, but there are many things that non-customers can do to avoid those extra charges.
They can get extra money for no charge when shopping at supermarkets, getting gas at Mobil or Racetrac stations, and getting stamps at the Post Office (yes, the Post Office will now give you $50 cash back on a debit card.)
They can also find the location of free ATM's in their area by accessing the following websites:
www.ibaa.org/atmsearch.html This site, sponsored by the Independent Banker's Association of America, lists free ATM's in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam
www.theco-op.org/index-ns.html Lists free ATM's in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
www.cuna.org/data/consumer/atm/freeatm.html Locates surcharge-free ATM's for dozens of credit union organizations, including Navy Federal Credit Union, America First Credit Union, Illinois Credit Union, and more.
If customers choose to use a fee-based ATM, they should remember that charges are usually the same for all withdrawals. Withdrawing $100 at a time will be less expensive than making five $20 withdrawals separately.
I can understand why many ATM's will charge non-customers a use fee. I find it more difficult to understand why the customer's own bank may add a fee on top of that. My own bank, Bank of America, does not charge me a fee for using other ATM's, and if it did I might consider changing banks.
It's important to remember that we must be educated consumers in financial matters and choose the institution we bank with carefully. There are many banks and each has many plans to choose from. Make a list of all the services you are likely to use and figure out the annual cost of each plan. Banks also tend to reward customers who use a package of services (because we have our mortgage with Bank of America, for example, we are never charged fees for any other services.)
ATM surcharges are the price we pay for convenience, but if we plan well and bank wisely, they are relatively simple to circumvent.
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A new development (1/11) was reported in the Post Dispatch yesterday. Several banks (including Chase, one of the largest banks in the US) have started charging customers with low checking account balances $.50 fees for using their debit cards at retailers. Apparently banks only receive about $.05 or $.07 a debit card transaction from the retailers, and feel they're not being fairly compensated.
Banks prefer that you use your "debit" card as a "credit" transaction (they get the float on the money for a few days, and charge a higher fee.) If this becomes a trend, or if your bank has started to charge you for debit transactions, it's important to tell the store you're visiting that you want it treated as a credit purchase. Sign the slip instead of entering your pin #. (The downside to this, of course, is that you won't be able to get cash back...)
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