Are you using an out-of-network ATM on the way home or to the office? Well, be prepared to pay a little bit more.
A new report from Bankrate.com finds that the average use of an out-of-network ATM costs $4.57. This is the 10th consecutive year of an ATM rate hike.
It’s not that the ATM operators feel like raising the costs. It’s the fact that fewer consumers are using ATMs, which is what is driving up the costs of accessing your cash. The costs pertaining to maintaining and upgrading ATM networks gets allocated to fewer transactions each year.
“Paying the fee every once in a great while isn’t going to make or break you, but it’s the habit of routinely paying these types of fees that is going to put you in the poor house,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, in a statement.
Here are the cities with the highest ATM fees:
- Phoenix $5.07
- Atlanta $5.05
- Cleveland $4.98
- Miami $4.94
- Denver $4.88
Here are the cities with the lowest ATM fees:
- San Francisco $3.90
- Cincinnati $3.92
- Dallas $4.22
- Los Angeles $4.28
- Boston $4.33
- Philadelphia $4.33
The one positive to come out of the study is that overdraft fees are easing up in the United States.
“The average overdraft fee has been increasing year in and year out for 17 consecutive years. And that streak has been broken this year,” explained McBride. “I think it’s too early to say that we’ve reached the peak, particularly because we’ve seen more increases than decreases” among banks in the survey.
It’s quite likely that consumers will be upset about the ATM fees going up, and the media will perpetuate the anger. However, all of those ATM fees are easily avoidable. All you have to do is access the ATM from your financial institution, use your debit card during a purchase or take out enough cash for the week.
Whatever you do, avoid an out-of-network ATM.
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