What It Means
An ATM fee is what you pay to use a cash machine. At an ATM outside your bank's network there can be two: a surcharge from the machine's owner, which federal Regulation E says must appear on the screen or on paper before you're committed, and a separate fee from your own bank or credit unionCredit unionA not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, offering accounts and loans to people within the field of membership its charter sets. See more for using another institution's machine. Your own bank's fee is listed in the account disclosure it gave you, or in a notice when it adds a new fee.
Try It: Add Up a Year of ATM Fees
Enter both fees for one visit to an out-of-network ATM, how often you go and how much you take out. The starting numbers are examples.
Taking the same month's cash in one visit instead: a year in fees.
The fees come to a tenth or more of the cash you take out.
The fees are under a tenth of the cash each visit.
How It Sounds at Home
- "That machine wanted three bucks just to take out forty."
- "I got hit by the ATM and by my own bank."
- "Let's find one of our bank's ATMs instead."
The Breakdown
Worked example. Jess banks with an online-only bank and uses whichever ATM is closest. Here's one visit, with example fees:
| Fee | Per visit |
|---|---|
| Surcharge the machine's owner shows on screen | $3.00 |
| Her own bank's out-of-networkOut-of-networkDescribes a provider that has no contract with your health plan, so the plan pays less or nothing for the care and you may be billed more. See more fee | $2.50 |
| Total | $5.50 |
She takes out $40 four times a month. That's $22 a month and $264 a year in fees, and each $40 withdrawal costs 13.8% of the cash it hands over. Taking the month's $160 in a single visit would bring the year's fees down to $66.
What the result means. ATM fees are charged per visit, whatever the amount, so small, frequent withdrawals cost the most. The last line of the calculator shows what fewer trips would save, and a machine in your own bank's network avoids the out-of-network fee.
The two fees side by side
| Fee | Who charges it | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Surcharge | The ATM's owner | On the screen or on paper, before you're committed |
| Out-of-network fee | Your bank or credit union | In the account disclosure, or a notice when a new fee is added |
Good to Know
Under Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.16), an ATM operator that charges for a withdrawal or a balance inquiry has to tell you and show the amount, on the screen or on paper, before you're committed, and it may charge only if you choose to go on, so you can cancel at that screen without paying the owner's fee. Your own bank's fee works separately: the CFPB says your bank or credit union must disclose it in writing when you open the account or when it adds the fee. HelpWithMyBank.gov, run by the OCC, answers whether a bank may charge you ATM fees, and your fee schedule lists what yours charges.
FAQ
Why was I charged two ATM fees for one withdrawal?
The ATM's owner can charge a surcharge, and your own bank or credit union can charge its own fee for using a machine outside its network. The owner's fee appears on the screen before you're committed, while your bank's fee is in your account disclosure.
Can I back out once I see the fee on the ATM screen?
Yes, for the owner's surcharge. Regulation E lets the operator charge only if you continue after the notice, so you can cancel and look for another machine.
Can an ATM charge me just to check my balance?
It can. Regulation E's notice rule covers an operator's fee for a balance inquiry as well as for a withdrawal, so read the screen before you confirm.
Do It in Buhata
Budget
Record each ATM fee in Budget as its own expense, so a month of small withdrawals shows its real cost.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Monthly maintenance fee
A charge a bank or credit union takes each month for keeping a checking, savings or money market account open, often waived if you meet set conditions.
- Foreign transaction fee
A fee a card provider charges, usually a percentage of the transaction, when you use the card in another country or pay in a foreign currency.
- Checking account
A bank or credit union account for everyday money going in and out, used by debit card, checks, transfers and direct deposit.
- Credit union
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, offering accounts and loans to people within the field of membership its charter sets.
- Overdraft fee
The flat charge a bank adds each time it pays a transaction your checking account couldn't cover, on top of the negative balance you repay.
Sources
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation E, "ยง 1005.16 Disclosures at automated teller machines"; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Can my bank/credit union charge me a fee to use another bank or credit union's ATM?"; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Check the screen for ATM fees"; HelpWithMyBank.gov (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), "My bank is charging me ATM fees. Is this legal?"
- www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1005/16
- www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-my-bankcredit-union-charge-me-a-fee-to-use-another-bank-or-credit-unions-atm-en-1081
- www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/check-the-screen-for-atm-fees
- www.helpwithmybank.gov/help-topics/bank-accounts/fees-terms/fees/fees-atm.html
Last updated .