Commonwealth Bank and No ATM Fees
COMMONWEALTH Bank (CBA) has become the first of the big banks to confirm it will not charge its customers a disloyalty fee for using rival ATMs.
National Australia Bank last month admitted it will charge its customers 50c for using a rival ATM, when new Reserve Bank rules come into force on March 3.The other big banks have said they will charge a disloyalty fee, but have yet to settle on how much.
“We think it is unfair to charge customers twice for the same transaction, once by the owner of the ATM and again by your own bank. So, we have decided not to levy any fee for using a foreign ATM,” said Michael Cant, general manager of retail products at Commbank.
The news comes after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens attacked the banks for their policies on rival ATM fees. He told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on Friday that it cost banks only about 10c to process an ATM transaction and he “cannot see any strong case for charging a ‘foreign’ fee”.
While four of the big five banks have said they will charge a fee, a host of smaller operators have already said that they will not levy a disloyalty fee
Consumer group Choice has welcomed the Commonwealth decision.
“It’s great news that Commbank is showing leadership in this area. Hopefully, it will provide the competitive pressure required to persuade the other banks to change tack and scrap this ridiculous fee,” said Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn. “The whole idea of the new ATM rules is to promote competition. Maybe this the first sign of it working.”
But while the spotlight has focused on “foreign” fees charged by a customer’s own bank, no bank has said what fee they will charge customers of other banks using their network.
Customers Ltd, the biggest independent owner of ATMs, placed largely in pubs and convenience stores, has said it will charge users $2 per transaction.
But the big banks have yet to decide their approach.
“There are rumours that the banks will stick to the current level of $2, but they could charge more,” one senior bank executive said.
“Banks are facing mounting losses on bad debts as the economic downturn intensifies and they will need to make up for these somehow.”
Source: Sunday Telegraph
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