Resources On ATM Surcharging

Resources On ATM Surcharging

Jump on this page: [Research and advocacy] [Government and Congressional Resources] [Lists of Non-Surcharging ATMs] [Legal Status] [Industry Information] Top

The campaign to stop exorbitant ATM fees -- and other banking fees -- has burgeoned across the country during the past few years, often quite spontaneously.

The following list of links represents only a small portion of the groups and individuals working on the issue and the press attention that ATM fees have received.

Research and Advocacy

The State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)
At the local and state level, and through U.S. PIRG --their national lobbying arm -- the PIRGs have conducted basic research exposing the rise in banking fees. They have also helped lead the successful campaigns to pass ATM surcharge bans in Santa Monica and San Francisco. The PIRG web site includes ATM research reports and tips on passing anti-fee legislation. Top

Santa Monica: Kevin McKeown and Michael Feinstein
As city councillors in Santa Monica, CA, McKeown and Feinstein have led the campaign to pass the first local ordinance banning ATM surcharges. They are working with other municipalities to craft and pass similar measures. The detailed staff report on the ordinance is available.

City of San Francisco:
Tom Ammiano, President of the Board of Supervisors, proposed an unsuccessful surcharge ban ordinance in the Council in Febuary 1999. A detailed report by the city's legislative analysts is available on the surcharge issue. A surcharge ban was then enacted by a voters' referendum in November 1999.Top

The New Rules Project of the Institute For Local Self-Reliance publishes an e-mail and web-based newsletter on ATM surcharge campaigns. New Rules runs several other projects about ways to build local economies.

GOVERNMENT RESEARCH & CONGRESSIONAL RESOURCES
Rep. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has introducing 1999 legislation to ban double ATM surcharges, HR 3229.

Major research reports by government agencies on ATM surcharging include the following: Top

--The General Accounting Office (GAO) of the Congress completed a detailed report to the Senate Banking Committee in April 1998, called
"Automated Teller Machines: Survey Results Indicate Banks' Surcharge Fees Have Increased." This report includes detailed charts breaking down changes in surcharge levels over time at large, medium and small banks.

-- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) completed its own report to the Senate Banking Committee. The CBO report "Competition in ATM Markets: Are ATMs Money Machines?", July 1998, analyzes ATM network market issues and explains numerous ATM-related fees, including the surcharge, the interchange fee, and the network fee.
-- The 1997 and 1998 Hearings of the Senate Banking Committee include testimony by consumer advocates, small banks and credit unions that oppose surcharges, and industry groups.
-- ATM Surcharges, an article by staff economist James McAndrews, in the April 1998 issue of the New York Federal Reserve Bank's Current Issues in Economics and Finance. Top

-- The Federal Reserve Board of Governors publishes an Annual Report To Congress On Fees and Services of Depository Institutions. In addition to documenting that multi-state banks impose higher fees than locally-owned banks, the 1998 report includes a detailed section on ATM surcharges.

Are ATM surcharges anti-competitive? We've added a new page to document that the answer is yes.

Other State PIRG Resources:

-- The state PIRGs publish annual reports on ATM fees and bi-annual "Big Banks, Bigger Fees" reports.

Lists of Non-Surcharging ATMs
This site, maintained by Prof. David Sorkin of Illinois, has links to hundreds of banks across the country that do not impose a surcharge on non-customers for using their ATMs.Top

Links To Legal Documents On Challenges To ATM Surcharge Bans This is a separate page in this site.

Industry Information
The industry's main source on the Internet for daily ATM information is ATMMagazine.com. Other sources of independent news include Bankrate.Com. Industry views include the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and the American Bankers Association which prefers to call double surcharges by the euphemism "convenience fees." Top