I was at Chatswood station and headed to an ATM to withdraw some money to buy my train ticket when at the end of the transaction I was asked by Mr ATM if I agreed to them charging me for using their ATM. I was rather surprised, but in haste and without recourse said 'yes'. There went $2. I proceeded to fume and made a mental note of it.
I had never been charged money before when using an ATM, so to me it was a rather big shock. However after 3 seconds of fuming I felt that it wasn't so much shock but confusion as to why I was charged and how the new fees impacted upon me. For those not in the know, the RBA introduced new ATM fee reforms effective from Tuesday, 3 March 2009.
So who is affected?
Anyone using a 'foreign ATM', that is one that does not belong to your financial institution. So if I was with CBA, when I'm using a WBC ATM.
What happens?
It's called 'direct charging'. Where the cardholder makes a withdrawal OR balance enquiry at a 'foreign ATM', the owner of that ATM will charge the cardholder a fee. The fee will be charged if the cardholder agrees at the end of the transaction.
What did it replace?
The introduction of 'direct charging' eliminates another charge known as the 'interchange fee'. That's when your bank pays the ATM owner when you make a foreign ATM transaction. These fees are then passed on to the cardholder without disclosure of margins or actual cost.
Why the changes?
The RBA believes that shifting the cost from the bank to the cardholder improves transparency and increases competition. When it comes to 'direct charging', the RBA believes that this will lead to cheaper ATMs as ATM owners within a vicinity compete for business.
How much will it cost?
In addition to any 'disloyal' costs that you pay to your own bank, the direct charge when you bank with these banks:
CBA/BankWest: $2- ANZ: $2
- WBC/SGB: $2
- NAB: $1.5o (withdrawal), $0.50 (balance)
- CBA: $0
- ANZ: $0
- WBC/SGB:
$0.25$0 - NAB: $0.50
- BankWest: $0.50
Mags
benny
benny
benny
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Post a Comment [8 comments]
I always thought you got charged for using a "foreign ATM", and that's always been the case.
You seem to have used a "foreign ATM", so you were going to get charged pre-reform anyway...
Though I think they should tell you at the start that there would be a charge, and then you can continue the transaction only if you want
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Friday, March 06, 2009 10:32:00 am
well yeah you were charged for using a 'foreign ATM', but that was from your own bank known as a 'disloyalty fee'...
now you potentially can get both the 'foreign ATM' charge and the 'disloyalty fee' slapped onto you simultaneously. that's the difference!
benny |
Friday, March 06, 2009 11:32:00 pm
Yeah, well the end result is the same: the banks take your money.
It's never been an issue with me, since I'm such a tightass, I've always used my banks own machines.
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Saturday, March 07, 2009 11:35:00 pm
Nah, you've got enough money to throw around. Giving a couple of dollars here and there to the banks is nothing to you
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Monday, March 09, 2009 11:24:00 am
no i'm not like you pang and just thrown money everywhere...
benny |
Monday, March 09, 2009 7:17:00 pm
WBC/SGB will no longer charge the $0.25 disloyalty fee. People charged last week will be refunded.
Unknown |
Monday, March 09, 2009 7:40:00 pm
why yes.. saw that on the news the other day. Fortunately, my bank does not charge a disloyalty fee... so if I go to a NAB ATM or stick with my own, it's a good deal. Fortunately there are quite a few of both in the city. :) Yay!!!