From: phaedrus@halcyon.com (Mark Phaedrus)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Foreign ATM Fees Re: Dedicated ATM card?
Date: 31 Dec 92 07:00:13 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: The 23:00 News and Mail Service

In article <carlp.725773887@frigg> carlp@frigg.isc-br.com (Carl Paukstis) writes:
>Seafirst (now owned by Bank of America) charges $0.50 for using your
>Seafirst Versateller (Plus-compatible) ATM card at any non-BRANCH ATM.  
>Even if it's the Seafirst ATM at Costco (or some other place), unless
>it's at a Seafirst branch, you pay.  I'm not thrilled by this, but
>their branch locations are convenient for me, so I seldom pay.  There
>may be a higher charge for using a non-Seafirst ATM; I'll find out
>when I get this month's statement.

     Interestingly enough, Seafirst Bank also offers a neat little inversion
of this plan, called "Versatel Checking"; I have one of these accounts.  It's
a free checking account with no service charges; they also eliminate all of
the service charges for using Seafirst/Bank of America machines, whether at
branches or not.  Most non-Seafirst machines are free as well (I'm not
entirely sure whether this is the way it's supposed to work, but I'm certainly
not going to complain about them not charging me :) ).  There's also a 24-hour
automated telephone system that I can use to check balances, see what checks 
have cleared, shuffle money around accounts, etc.; this is free as well.  (It's
available for non-Versatel accounts too, but I believe they get charged for 
using it more than a certain number of times a month.)  In return for all of
this automated convenience, I'm charged $1 for using a human teller for
services that I could get from a cash machine or the telephone system--
balance inquiries, routine withdrawals and check deposits, etc.  Since I find
the machines to be faster than the tellers, I have no objection to this
whatsoever; it works out great for me.
     (And may I say that I've always been very satisfied with Seafirst's
customer service; for example, if I'm depositing a paycheck or something else
large enough to make me feel uncomfortable using the cash machine, I just take
it to a teller, and they've always happily waived the $1 fee.)

>The original note seemed to say that the owner bank for the ATM you
>use deducts a buck from the cash you get, on the spot.  This can't be
>right, can it?  Would make for awkward amounts.  With Seafirst, it's
>just a service charge deducted on your statement.

     Since cash machines are almost always loaded with $5s and $20s only, I
don't see how deducting a dollar from the cash paid would possibly work, unless
the machine insists on making you withdraw, say, $36 or $61. :)
     Of course, you can wind up with some rather odd amounts on Seafirst
machines too.  Many of them will sell you stamps as well, in bill-shaped sheets
of 18 29-cent stamps.  This works out to $5.22 a sheet; I'm not sure whether
the machine charges you $5.22 or slightly more, but it does result in some
rather odd withdrawal amounts.  (On a totally irrelevant note, these stamps are
great, particularly if you need to carry stamps around in your wallet; they're
self-adhesive, and they don't get stuck together if your wallet gets wet.)
-- 
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Newsgroups: misc.consumers