And some of these charges can be steep. California's Senator Barbara Boxer is a co-sponsor of the D'Amato bill. California ATMs constitute the bulk of ATMs listed. Two states, Connecticut and Iowa have outlawed ATM surcharges. According to a recent ABA survey, nearly 60 percent of consumers say they have changed their ATM usage habits as a result of convenience fees.
ATMs are costly to own and to operate.
Just as the decision of whether or not to use a particular ATM is best left to the individual consumer, the decision of whether or not to charge consumers for the convenience of using a particular ATM is best left to the individual organization operating that machine. It is a decision that ATM operators will make based upon costs and customer service requirements. Personally, I think that's a lot of PR hogwash. ATMs are a way of replacing human tellers with machines and making a profit doing it. The capital expense of the machines is a drop in the bucket, and it's a tax writeoff.