atm users vote with their feet on fees

ATM users vote with their feet on fees

http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,28323,25190806-5013952,00.html

By Tim Boreham
The Australian
March 16, 2009 12:01am

CONSUMERS have snubbed a new regime allowing ATM owners, rather than the card-issuing bank, to charge fees on so-called foreign ATM transactions.

Customers Ltd, which owns the biggest ATM network, reports a 12 per cent decline in ATM visits over the first two weeks of operation of the Reserve Bank-endorsed direct charging system, with average per-transaction amounts remaining steady, The Australian reports.

Customers' 5400 machines are usually found in convenience stores and service stations, or badged as Bank of Queensland or St George Bank terminals.

Customers chief executive Tim Wildash said consumers might have been deterred by publicity about banks continuing to impose an additional foreign ATM charge, even though they incur no cost in providing the service.

The National Australia Bank last week buckled to competitive pressure from its Big Four peers and removed its 50c surcharge. However, second-tier banks including Bank of Queensland and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank are still adding imposts - and are under increasing pressure to drop them.

"Due to bad press and what the banks are telling customers, people are saying, 'I'm not even going to use an ATM because they've got a nasty feel about them'," Mr Wildash said.

He said transaction levels had been easy to predict. "ATM (users) are incredibly habitually boring," he said. "The same person goes to the same ATM at the same servo at 11am and always takes out $220."

Consumer Action Law Centre director of policy and campaigning Nicole Rich said the declines probably reflected the new on-screen advice, which outlines the fee and asks users whether they would like to continue the transaction.