ATMs to display fees up front

Changes to the way Automatic Teller Machines charge customers from other banks will change in March 2009, with the Reserve Bank saying that the changes will lower the costs to consumers by increasing transparency.

The RBA has found that banks charge other bank customers up to $2 to use their ATMs, even though the cost of processing the transaction is about 74 cents. From March 2009, ATMs will display the fee to be charged on the screen before the transaction is accepted. If the customer chooses to proceed and make the transaction, the fee will be debited from the customer account at the same time.

The RBA says the current system is not transparent and not subject to the normal forces of competition.