FTA Hacker
New member
NEW YORK, -- The average cost of withdrawing cash from an automated machine in the United States has risen to $3.74 per transaction, an industry research firm said.
Bankrate.com said fees for withdrawing cash are going up and the reason, analysts say, is that regulators have limited fees in other areas, such as overdraft fees.
"Regulatory changes in the industry have really put a damper on banks' ability to make money on fees," Ron Shevlin, an industry analyst at Aite Group, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Monday.
"If you press down on one side of the balloon, it's going to pop up on the other. When you press down on overdraft fees and interchange revenue, banks are going to raise [other] fees," Shevlin explained.
At automatic teller machines, there are two fees at play. One is charged by the consumer's bank. The other is charged by the company that owns the ATM, which may be another bank or it could be an independent firm, which often charge the highest rates.
To find lower fees, consumers could ask their own bank where the bank-owned machines are located or ask if they are affiliated with other banks that share no-fee agreements.
Some stores also offer the option of withdrawing cash with no charges.
Consumers could also "plan ahead," to avoid fees, the newspaper said.