According to Wall Street Journal, the financial data provider Bankrate found that the average fee for using a non-network ATM has risen to $4.52, an increase of more than 21 percent over the past five years. The ATM owner now charging an average of $2.88 and the out-of-network fee from banks averaging $1.64.
The average ATM fees are now around $4.52, but Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate says that the increase is no surprise, because the charges go up every year.
Don’t expect anything to change in the near future
“The overdraft fees have been going up for years and this is the 17th consecutive year that we’ve seen the average overdraft fee hit a new high. It goes up every year no matter what, it’s like the sun rising in the East.”, stated McBride, quoted by Buzzfeed.com.
The consumer finance information portal did a survey of overdraft and ATM fees and found that the average overdraft fee for the ten largest banks and thrifts in the 25 biggest banking markets was $33.07, up from $30.47 in 2010.
Two explanations for this continuously increase are possible. The first is that banks are only interested in getting more money out of their customers, and the second one is strongly connected to the first one: people are using ATM’s much less frequently than they did before.
Mobile payments are rising
Sick of the absurd ATM fees, customers found other solutions of payment. According to a survey conducted by Accenture, 41 percent of American
consumers had used their mobile phones to pay for something. So, less customers, less taxpayers for the banks, and that shift in consumer behavior
has to be troubling both for banks and other independent ATM owners because they are just like any other business, profit is God for them.
“Free checking accounts are still out there,” McBride also added, but a lot of people aren’t aware of this.
