ATM Fees

Are consumers unknowingly trapped into paying ATM fees? A survey by Pulse EFT Association indicated that three-fourths of consumers use ATMs as their preferred method of obtaining cash, even though 58 percent had to pay a surcharge to do so. Also, more than a third get cash back at a point of sale terminal in order to avoid a surcharge.

Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on June 30 that any local ordinances restricting surcharges on automated teller machines violated the National Banking Act and the Homeowners Loan Act, which govern nationally chartered banks and federal savings banks respectively. Voters in San Francisco and the Santa Monica City Council had approved the bans. The ordinances banned banks from charging fees to other banks' customers using their ATMs. San Francisco city attorney, Louise Renne, plans to appeal the ruling.