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INTRODUCTION
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THE PROBLEM
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AVOIDING SURCHARGES
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State and local initiatives

Surcharges have been banned statewide in Connecticut and Iowa (and by ATM network rules in Nebraska), and in the cities of San Francisco and Santa Monica, California, and Woodbridge and Newark, New Jersey. Similar laws are under consideration in many other places, including Chicago and New York City. A few other states (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Wyoming) have imposed limits on the amount of ATM surcharges, and some states prohibit ATMs from collecting surcharges from electronic benefit transfer (EBT) recipients.

Big banks are fighting back

Banks have challenged these restrictions in court, claiming that only the federal government has the power to regulate surcharges. In some instances banks have even begun rejecting nonaccountholders' ATM cards in order to protest legal restrictions on surcharging.

Federal bills pending

Legislation concerning ATM surcharges has also been introduced in the U.S. Congress by Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and others. The first surcharge-related bill introduced in 2001, H.R. 1047, would prohibit surcharges on ATMs that display advertisements.

For more news ...

The PIRGs' StopATMFees.Com site also has a latest news page. Links to recent news articles about the surcharge issue are collected at Yahoo! Full Coverage. Some other sources of current information include ATM Magazine, bankrate.com, and the ATM Surcharge Bulletin.