Australians are still forking out half a billion dollars a year in ATM fees they don’t need to be paying.
Instead of withdrawing money without charge at their own banks’ ATMs, many continue to use machines belonging to third-party providers, which commonly charge a $2 fee.
About 40% of ATM transactions are done at third-party machines, RateCity.com.au says. That cost Australians an estimated $548m in avoidable ATM fees in the past year, the financial comparison site says after analysing Reserve Bank of Australia data.
“Half a billion dollars a year is an excessive amount of money to be spending on accessing our own money,” RateCity’s money editor, Sally Tindall, said on Monday.
An RBA report released last week found direct ATM charges had risen slightly in real terms since 2009 industry reforms. But the amount spent on ATM fees has fallen as consumers have moved towards electronic payments.
Australians paid $815m in fees in the year to January 2008.
A RateCity survey found that one in three Australians still paid ATM fees, with women and young adults more willing to fork out for convenience. “If half of these transactions were made either at a free ATM or at a retailer that provides cash out, collectively we’d save around $274m per year,” Tindall said.
She said only 5% of people used everyday accounts that refund ATM fees regardless of which outlet is used.
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