
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995                   TAG: 9505240088
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

CITIBANK VOWS TO ELIMINATE SOME ATM FEES

Figuring that rewards work better than punishment, Citibank is eliminating automatic-teller fees levied against customers with low balances and is waiving fees for home banking services.

The new pricing policy by the nation's biggest bank is meant to entice customers to use ATMs and electronic services for getting cash and paying bills, less expensive for banks than handling customers at the teller windows.

Citibank's approach is to offer a carrot to change customer behavior, rather than yield a stick by imposing fees for using human tellers, as First Chicago Corp. said it will do starting next month.

Citibank customers whose balances fall below $2,000 in checking or $6,000 in combined accounts no longer will pay a 35-cent fee for using one of the bank's ATMs. The change, which applies to customers in New York City and Connecticut, takes effect June 1.

Serving customers through machines costs banks less than handling business through human tellers, a trend that has encouraged banks to make ATMs more enticing. In a much-maligned announcement two weeks ago, First Chicago Corp. said it will charge some customers $3 for using a teller.

by CNB