ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020040
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
Angered by rising ATM fees, the Senate Banking Committee chairman said Tuesday he is pushing to ban charges for consumers who use cash machines not owned by their banks.
A consumer group released a survey showing that the number of automated teller machines levying such charges has jumped 45 percent in six months. At the same time, the average cost of the surcharges is up, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group said. Tuesday was the first anniversary of the decision by the nation's two largest ATM networks, Plus and Cirrus, to allow machine owners to charge a second fee.
The surcharges, paid to the bank operating the ATM, come on top of fees many customers pay their own banks when they use another bank's machine.
``More and more consumers are now forced to pay twice for the `privilege' of gaining access to their money. That's outrageous,'' said Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.``Banks are posting record profits, yet they are crying poverty when it comes to ATMs. That just doesn't wash. If they cannot afford ATMs, why did they put up over 100,000 of them?''
D'Amato said he will reintroduce legislation to ban such double-charges.
But a bankers' group spokesman maintained that the fees are outweighed by the 24-hour convenience for customers and are needed to make the machines profitable.
The survey by PIRG, a consumer group, covered 860 automated teller machines in 27 states and the District of Columbia, out of a total 140,000 nationwide. It found that 45 percent of those surveyed charged consumers for using another bank's machine in March, nearly double the 23 percent recorded by the group in a survey in September.
The most common fee was $1, followed by $1.50. They ranged from 25 cents to $2.50.
The new survey also found that 52 percent of ATMs owned by the nation's 100 largest banks levied surcharges averaging $1.24, while 39 percent of smaller banks charged fees averaging $1.06. Only 6 percent of member-owned credit unions imposed fees, which averaged 67 cents, the group said.
The average ATM surcharge is now $1.15, up from 97 cents last year, the survey found. PIRG said the increase more than doubled the cost of many ATM transactions.
John Hall, a spokesman for the American Bankers Association, said his group believed ``the marketplace should decide prices for ATMs, not the government.''
Hall said the rapid growth in machines over the past year - a record 33,400 new ATMs were installed in 1996 - was made possible by the surcharges, which go toward paying rent, security costs and other expenses for the machines.
He said most banks offer unlimited free ATM use for their customers using the bank's machines.
Reps. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Marge Roukema, R-N.J., members of the House Banking Committee, have proposed a measure to require disclosure of all ATM charges on the terminal screens before money is withdrawn.
Schumer said Tuesday that such a disclosure bill had a good chance of congressional approval, but it was unrealistic to expect a surcharge ban as proposed by D'Amato to pass.
Connecticut and Iowa have outlawed the fees, and legislation to ban the surcharges or impose a moratorium is being considered in other states.Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
In February, a group of small California banks and thrifts banded together to fight ATM fees charged by bigger rivals, promising free use of their machines for non-customers. The group's machines carry a special logo: the word ``$urcharge'' enclosed in a barred red circle.
The survey said surcharges were most popular in the South, led by Georgia, with 95 percent of banks imposing them, and North Carolina and Virginia, with 88 percent.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB