The transaction is expected to be completed by January 7, 2000. As a protectionary measure, all of the banks are required to make backup copies of customer data. On December 20, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the state's existing law does not prohibit banks from imposing ATM surcharges, because the law was not drafted with ATMs in mind . The ruling culminates a 3-year court effort by Fleet Financial Group, Inc., Boston, MA, to assess ATM fees in Connecticut. In order to appease the socioeconomic concerns of the dissenting justices, a Fleet spokesman said that Fleet would not impose fees on welfare recipients with electronically-deposited benefits.
Many bankers maintain that the fees are necessary for funding the ATMs' operation.
With the ruling, Iowa becomes the only state in which ATM fees are illegal. Certain municipalities, such as San Francisco and Santa Monica, CA, have also passed city ordinances banning the fee within their municipal limits.