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Would you rather walk 20 blocks in the rain than pay a $1.50 in ATM fees? Even if your answer is an emphatic "eh, not really," we think most bank customers would agree that indiscriminate surcharges are annoying. However, as much as it pains us to say this, they exist for a valid reason. The Consumer Bankers Association (who, we assume, is a bit biased) argues ATM fees are "the price of convenience." When you're being hustled by a greedy machine, bitterness is to be expected. But ATMs cost anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 a month to operate, so it wouldn't make economic sense for banks (or independent operators) to allow non-customers to access them for free. Even so, some crusaders want to stop ATM fees. This site, aptly
named "StopATMFees.com," argues that, in many cases, consumers are being charged twice for each transaction -- once by their own bank for using a different establishment, and another by the actual ATM. The site further argues that each ATM transaction only costs banks "about a quarter." Strangely, that's what most ATM fees used to be -- now they've ballooned to, in some instances, $5 per transaction. Will ATM fees ever totally go away? We doubt it. However, the fact that only 28% of people pay them indicates they can be avoided. You just have to be prepared to walk a few blocks.
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