Automated Teller Machines: Some Consumer Fees Have Increased.

摘要

Since the 1960s, consumers have increasingly used ATMs to easily access their accounts and conduct transactions such as cash withdrawals. Consumers may incur fees to use ATMs, such as a surcharge fee, which is paid to the ATM operator for transactions conducted at ATMs outside their financial institutions network. In 2008, GAO reported that ATM surcharge fees had increased since 2000. GAO was asked to review issues related to continued increases in these fees. This report discusses (1) the business models for ATM operators and how they set ATM fees, (2) the amounts of fees that consumers incur to conduct ATM transactions and how these fees have changed over time, and (3) the reported costs of ATM operations for ATM operators and how the costs and revenues are expected to change. For this work, GAO surveyed a nongeneralizable sample of 30 financial institutions and 4 independent ATM operators to collect information on their ATM operations and costs in calendar year 2011.