Australia’s New ATM Direct Charges

The banking and finance industry together with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has developed how the new ATM direct charges work with aims to provide better transparency and choice to cardholders.

Cardholders will now be shown the ATM owner fee prior to making a transaction at a foreign ATM or a “non-customer” ATM. You will have the option to either accept the fee or reject and cancel the transaction. This will be effective as of March 3, 2009.

A foreign ATM is a any ATM that doesn’t belong to a financial institution. These types of ATMs are usually found in convenience stores, pubs and other random places. Majority of these foreign ATMs are owned by Customers Limited.

A “non-customer” ATM is an ATM that belongs to a financial institution that you are not a cardholder with (i.e. Commonwealth Bank customer withdrawing from a St George ATM).

You may also be charged for a disloyalty fee by your financial institution if you withdraw from a different ATM. Basically, you may be charged two kinds of fees: direct charge and disloyalty fee.

Below are some breakdowns of 4 major banks and their ATM charges.

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