ATM Fee Hikes On Horizon

As consumer banks look to juice returns during a down period for new loans and mortgages be on the watch for rising ATM fees. In certain areas of the country JP Morgan, Bank of America and Wachovia have started charging $3 for non-account holders. Add that to the $1 or more that many banks like Chase already charge consumers themselves for the use of ATM’s not natively owned by the bank and consumers are getting a raw deal. You may be getting charged up to 20% of your withdrawal if you are making a withdrawal of $20 for example.

The average ATM fee today is $1.78, but five years ago it was about $1 at a bank where you didn’t have an account. My response, switch to a bank that refunds ATM fees that other institutions charge…. or if that isn’t a practical option for you use a point of sale cash back option – there are Walgreens and Wal-marts everywhere and a pack of gum costs a lot less than a $4 ATM fee.

If you are in the market for a checking account that has ATM refunds, some possibilities with decent interest are

Schwab High Yield Checking: 3.21% APY Variable with no min.

E*Trade: 3.60% APY Variable with $5,000 min.

Readers, do you have other suggestions? Comments?

Link to story @ ABC News

Image: wrestlingentropy @ Flickr