(Offline)
CNNMoney doesn't think it's a good idea. I think it is. And I won't shed a tear over these companies that have been fleecing people with high fees for years!
In fact, some experts suggest that capping fees might result in more harm than good for consumers.
One likely consequence would be a reduction in the number of ATMs. At the end of last year, there were roughly 425,000 cash-dispensing machines across the country, according to industry figures. About half of them were controlled by independent operators like Cardtronics (CATM) and Louisville, Ky.-based firm Payment Alliance.
Experts said these companies would be devastated by a fee cap since they earn nearly all of their revenue from charging customers that visit their machines.
(Offline)
I've never heard of a program like that. It would be a good alternative.
I'm not against them getting rid of those expensive machines. Mainly because I never use them and make sure I have enough cash that I won't have to. My sister-in-law runs to one close by her house every time and pays those daft fees. Her own bank isn't even three blocks further away and she's in the car! These machines rely on laziness like hers.
I don't think the banks would stop providing the service because their customers have several alternatives they can go to. It's too easy for their customers to walk and take all their future business with them. Are they going to risk them shifting their mortgages, insurance, savings etc as well? I doubt it.
(Offline)
I agree with bringmeroses. It's not just an ATM fee that's at stake here. Banks make it so easy to move to another one now that it's not the big hassle it used to be to do so. Look how many people jump ship for better credit card rates and dump cards in a heartbeat.
(Offline)
I don't know why the banks didn't put their heads together at the very start when ATMs were becoming popular and agree that none would charge fees for customers or non-customers. The other third party ATMs would never have happened if they had. They've lost business to them.
I agree with CNNMoney on this one.
If it costs a bank about 50 cents to deliver an ATM service and they can not charge more then that, won't banks stop providing that service to it's customers? Why provide a service at a loss? Banks are around because they can provide a profit to the owners. No other reason.
How many public phone booths do you see there days? Do you see any? If there is no profit, there is no machine.
My bank has always had a program that reimburses me up to $15/month each time that I use an ATM from another bank. Maybe this is a better way to handle it.