ATM fees can get pricey and Atlanta has one of the highest in the United States, according to a new report.
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Researchers from bankrate.com, a finance service company, recently conducted a study to determine out-of-network ATM fees across the nation. To do so, they collected data about debit card and ATM fee policies and non-interest and interest-bearing checking accounts from 10 banks and thrifts in 25 large U.S. markets.
After analyzing the results, they discovered Miami has the lowest average ATM fee at $4.37. On the other hand, Detroit has the highest average ATM fee at $5.28, with Atlanta following right behind at $5.19.
The analysts also examined overdraft fees and discovered ATL has the 7th highest at $33.90. Philadelphia has the No. 1 highest at $35.30, and Seattle has the lowest at $32.10.
While they did note overdraft fees were slightly down to $33.23 from $33.38 last year, they said this is still the second highest on record.
“Despite the decline in the average fee, the number of fee increases outnumbered decreases in the survey,” the authors wrote in a statement. “The most common fee remains $35 for the 10th year in a row.”
The researchers also found it’s also becoming less expensive to have a checking account that doesn’t pay interest.
Forty-one percent of non-interest checking accounts are free by default. For those that do charge, the average monthly service fee is $5.57, the lowest since 2014.
Furthermore, their findings revealed 57 percent of non-interest accounts will waive the monthly fee, including 40 percent that will do so based on direct deposit.
And about 8 percent of checking accounts that earn interest have no monthly service fees or balance requirements, although the average monthly service fee for interest-bearing checking accounts, which is $14.35, is the lowest it’s been since 2011.
Want to learn more about the results? Take a look at the full report here.
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