Expect to Pay More at the ATM

October 29th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under • by tisha

It used to be that ATM’s were a matter of convenience, an easy way to access your bank account and get your own cash without having to work around the operating hours of your local bank. However, as more and more people have grown to rely on this convenience, the banks themselves are cashing in and making money off of your need for instant cash.

Over the last 10 years, automated tell transaction fees have gone up by more than a dollar on average. This means, each time you make a visit to a bank machine that is not a part of your own personal bank network, you are hit with a fee of $2.00 or more in fees. More of your hard-earned money is being shelled out simply for convenience. To make matters even worse, when you use the ATM and get socked with a fee, you are likely to get hit with ANOTHER fee by your own bank. Hardly seems fair, right?

Well, it is a fact. The banking industry makes billions of dollars in bank fees from automated teller machines each year. Sometimes the fees are hard to escape especially when you are desperate for cash when your bank’s machines are no where in sight, such as the times you are on vacation or getting some holiday shopping done. When you need the cash, you often may not consider the small fee at the time – but it does add up. When the ATM is about to charge you a fee for use, you will receive notification prior to completing your transaction. You can always opt to refuse the card and find another ATM.

There are other ways to avoid giving the banks more money than you need to be. Simply planning can help alleviate some of the issues. Make sure to keep a stash of cash on hand for whenever you might need it and plan out the amount you keep based on your budget. Another way to avoid the fees at the ATM is to use your banking debit card to make your purchases, if you choose to not carry cash. Be carefully when using your card though. It can be very easy to forget some of your purchases and screw up your checkbook. Mismanagement of your bank account can lead to even higher fees when you factor in the overdraft fees banks are now charging which can be as high as $40 or more for each item cleared through insufficient funds.