ATM Fees from March 1, 2009

neil on 17/02/2009 - 14:53

Following a review by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), from 3 March 2009 ATM Direct Charging will be introduced at all ATMs across Australia.

ATM Direct Charging will now mean the fee charged for using an ATM will be displayed and charged by the ATM owner at the time of completing a transaction at their ATM. This ATM Direct Charge will then be displayed as a separate item on your account statement.

Links:
The Australian
Reserve Bank of Australia

So as I'm with Citibank, the only banks we can now use without incurring a fee are Westpac ATMs. HSBC customers can also use Westpac ATMs. Bankwest can use Commonwealth ATMs fee free. Getting fee free ATM transactions is a big lure of me picking Citibank, but now I guess I'll have to find an account that has the nearest ATM networks to me.

Started a Wiki entry here if anyone wants to add fee free ATMs.

General Discussion

Comments

  • mawinmawin on 17/02/2009 - 19:16

    Very true. I also with citibank because of this feature, now no benefit as i could do banking with westbank !.

    Btw, banks like citibank and HSBC dont have much ATMs and they already paying other ATM owner (or some agreement). The only change made now is, ATM owner will display (and confirm before charge) on screen and detuct payment upfront instead of banks pay them and charge us. So citibank/HSBC are exploiting this situation in a way !. Time to move on.

  • neil on 17/02/2009 - 19:22

    Was looking at Bankwest again and with their Zero account, there are no ATM fees at any ATM, so might be a good choice for a bank account.

  • John on 18/02/2009 - 14:17

    I am with Bankwest Zero acc.. It's been very satisfying so far. They have minimum $2000 deposit a month which is far better as I think other banks have minimum of over $4000 plus a month.

    Btw can anyone give example of foreign ATM? Is it like the RediTeller ATM, Foreign Exchange ATM, etc?

    Also, does all Bankwest customer have fee-free use on Commonwealth Bank ATM? I have never heard news about this.. can anyone provide a link to confirm?

    Cheers!

    • neil on 18/02/2009 - 14:34

      Yep, Commonwealth Bank bought Bankwest out a couple of months ago. So all accounts get free reciprocal access.

      More info, PDF link

      Where is it refered to as foreign ATM?

      • neil on 18/02/2009 - 14:37

        Ah, I see..On the Bankwest site, the sentence after it is "These are non-Bankwest ATMs that are not part of our nominated ATM network*.

        So foreign ATMs are just non Bankwest, non Commonwealth ATMs, so ANZ ATMs for example in Australia. Nothing to do with ATMs outside of the country.

      • John on 18/02/2009 - 16:36

        Thanks for the info. The PDF tells that CBA is nominated ATM for Bankwest in certain states.. I guess it doesn't apply here in WA.

        Foreign ATM as mentioned in the RBA website in the first post.

        • neil on 18/02/2009 - 16:40

          That's until Feb 28, after March 1 it's Commonwealth Bank in all states.

  • scotty on 18/02/2009 - 15:08

    Hmm. With large number of CBA ATMs around, BankWest's Zero Transaction Account certainly looks like the best option at the moment. Oh but the pain of transferring everyday transaction accounts…

    • neil on 18/02/2009 - 15:11

      Well, the Zero account is fee free for any ATM. I'm not sure why Bankwest can offer this but Citibank/HSBC can't.

  • Crownie on 23/02/2009 - 00:20

    I was worried when joining Bankwest are there are not alot of their ATMs around.
    Most seem to be in 7elevens.
    Now I can get money out from ANY atm and not worry about a single fee.

    • mawinmawin on 23/02/2009 - 09:59

      I dont think so. Bankwest always allow fee-free on only certain ATMs depends on the state.

      Following is for the Bankwest Zero account:

      Withdrawal Fee
      There are no electronic, cheque or counter withdrawal fees applicable to this account.
      An electronic withdrawal is any cash withdrawal or debit transfer made at or using BankWest Online Banking, Phone Banking, Direct Debit, Periodical Payment, a BankWest ATM, EFTPOS terminal or selected Other Bank ATM <p>(NSW, TAS, ACT and NT – Commonwealth Bank, VIC – Westpac, QLD – Bank of Queensland and SA – BankSA) where the “Savings” or “Cheque” button was selected.<p>
      However, any cash withdrawal or debit transfer made with the MasterCard Debit Card at a BankWest ATM, EFTPOS terminal or selected Other Bank ATM where the “Credit” button was selected is not an electronic withdrawal. A cheque withdrawal is any withdrawal made using a personal cheque to withdraw funds from this account.
      A counter withdrawal is any withdrawal or debit transfer made at a BankWest Service Centre, BankWest Agent, Neighbourhood Bank or using Bank@Post.

      Note the word "Selected" and see which bank for your state. Otherwise other bank ATM fee is defined in same document - http://www.bankwest.com.au/library/pdf/PDS_20080125-110540.p… - updated on Feb 16 2009.

      • neil on 23/02/2009 - 10:04

        The Zero account is fee-free at any ATM in Australia, even after March 1. Other Non-Zero accounts will have to use ATMs at either Bankwest or Commonwealth to avoid the fee.

        So looks like the Zero account is good for anyone looking to avoid ATM fees after March 1.

  • neil on 23/02/2009 - 10:06

    From the PDF link,

    Q. How will ATM fee reforms affect Zero, FreeB or Agrione accounts?

    A. As per the PDS, you will not incur any ATM fees when using another bank’s/ independent operator’s ATM. However, you will need to accept the Direct Charge which will be displayed on the ATM screen at the time of transaction. Once you "accept" this fee, the Direct Charge will be processed and the fee will be paid by Bankwest. This fee will not be debited from your account but will be displayed on your statement with a corresponding line for the Bankwest waiver.

  • cacbm on 22/03/2009 - 10:09

    I reckon charging a fee is fair enough, I'll just find my bank's ATM. BUT to charge a disloyalty fee is disgraceful.

    • scotty on 23/03/2009 - 14:36

      BUT to charge a disloyalty fee is disgraceful.

      Looks like charging a disloyalty fee would be a sure way to have disloyal ex-customers. You have to wonder where these banks got their customer service people from…

    • super8 on 30/03/2009 - 20:26

      Correct.
      All the big banks' ATM networks operate at a loss. Also ATM's in regional/remote areas are very expensive to maintain so why shouldnt they be allowed to charge accordingly?

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