ATM FEE HIKES AMOUNT TO DOUBLE-DIPPING, WATCHDOG GROUP CLAIMS
Apr 12th, 1999 • Posted in: NewsWASHINGTON
Many banks are hiking automatic teller machine (ATM) fees and unfairly exploiting consumers, according to a new report issued last week by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
The consumer group’s “ATMs: Always Taking Money” report slams banks for imposing surcharge fees assigned to users who don’t have an account with the ATM’s bank.
Those surcharges unjustifiably boost the bank’s profit, PIRG claims, because the bank already collects a portion of the fee that customers must pay their own bank for using another firm’s ATM.
The American Bankers Association says the estimated $2.1 billion in annual ATM surcharge earnings actually helps consumers by allowing banks to subsidize an increasing number of ATMs in convenient locations, the Associated Press reported.
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