[Vision2020] Your Friends: The Banks

[Art Deco]

ATM fees hit record high, free checking accounts decline By Aaron Smith
@CNNMoney <https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=cnnmoney> September
24, 2012: 2:21 PM ET

 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Banks are hiking ATM fees to record levels and
cutting back on free checking accounts, according to an industry report
issued Monday.

The financial research firm Bankrate.com said ATM surcharges -- the fee
charged when you use a machine that's isn't your bank's -- rose for the
eighth straight year, up 4%, to a record high of $2.50.

In addition, the fee your bank charges to use another bank's ATM rose 11%
to $1.57. So for many customers, using an ATM from a competing bank costs
$4.07, an increase of 7% and a record.

Banks traditionally provide ATMs for free to their own customers, and cover
their costs by charging consumers who use out of network machines,
according to Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. But
people are getting smarter about using only in-network ATMs, which means
that the companies are trying to make up for that lost revenue.

And there is more bad news for consumers. Bankrate.com also found that 39%
of non-interest checking
accounts<http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/08/pf/checking-accounts/index.htm?iid=EL>provided
by U.S. banks are free of charge to all customers. That's compared
to 45% last year and a peak of 76% in 2009, according to
Bankrate.com<http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/12/pf/fdic-bank-accounts/index.html>.


McBride says the banking industry has lost income due to an increase in
regulations, and that's made free checking accounts harder to find.

Related: What to do with $10,000
now<http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2012/09/20/spending-10000.moneymag/index.html>

"Two regulatory changes in particular have cut the legs out from free
checking, one putting restrictions on overdraft charges, and the other
limiting swipe fees when a consumer uses a debit card," he said.

The swipe fees that retailers pay every time a customer uses a debit card
were reduced last year, said McBride. This followed regulations imposed in
2010 that placed limits on overdraft fees.

Swipe fees and overdraft
fees<http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/13/pf/bank-fees-rise/index.html>helped
underwrite the costs of free checking before the regulations were
imposed, said McBride. Now, the bank industry is more selective with free
checking accounts, usually providing them only to preferred customers, such
as those with direct deposit accounts.

And these types of cutbacks are affecting customer behavior. The annual
report found that 72% of customers would consider switching accounts if
their fees were raised -- up from 64% last year.

The report said that higher-income customers, with at least $75,000 in
their accounts, were most likely to switch, with 82% saying they would
consider changing banks if fees were raised. [image: To top of page]
<http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/24/pf/bank-fees/index.html?hpt=hp_t3#TOP>


 First Published: September 24, 2012: 10:39 AM ET


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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