ATM fees reach 26-year high with charges topping $5 in some cities
Banks are charging record amounts for noncustomers getting cash at ATMs, according to a new survey released this week by personal finance website Bankrate.
The average out-of-network fee climbed to $4.77 this year, a 4-cent increase from 2023. It's the highest average total fee since Bankrate started tracking fees in 1998.
"If you make an out-of-network ATM withdrawal, expect to pay, and pay more than ever before," Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride said in a statement. "Fees have increased again and you'll typically pay two fees — one to the ATM owner and another to your own bank."
On average, your bank will charge $1.58 for using an out-of-network ATM. The owner of the out-of-network ATM will charge, on average, an additional $3.19, for a combined average fee of $4.77.
Bankrate advises only using ATMs in your bank's network for withdrawals to avoid fees when getting cash. Consumers can also ask for cash back when using a debit card for a purchase. Bankrate says that while there's usually no fee for doing this, the maximum withdrawal limits are often lower than those imposed by ATMs.
The average out-of-network ATM fee in some American cities can come in much higher than the fee in others. Depending on where you live, you may be spending more than $5 to access cash. The average ATM fee is highest in Atlanta, where people can pay $5.33 to withdraw cash at an out-of-network machine, according to Bankrate's survey. The average withdrawal fee also topped $5 in San Diego, Phoenix, Detroit and Cleveland.
Boston has the most inexpensive withdrawal fee of the 25 metropolitan areas Bankrate surveyed, with an average out-of-network fee of $4.16.
To make matters even worse, consumers are also getting socked with higher overdraft fees, which climbed to an average of $27.08 in 2024 after declining for two straight years, Bankrate found.
The Bankrate survey examined 10 banks and thrifts in 25 large markets.
ATM fees may be on the rise, in part, because fewer Americans are withdrawing cash. Americans made 6 billion ATM cash withdrawals in 2009, but that had dropped to 5.8 billion by 2015 and 3.7 billion in 2021, according to the Federal Reserve.
McBride in 2018 told MoneyWatch that fees go up each year because "no one is worried about alienating noncustomers."