Local banks, thrifts hold off on new ATM fee.Card giants let ATM site owners charge extra fee L.A. COUNTY - So far, California banks and savings and loans savings and loan n. a banking and lending institution, chartered either by a state or the Federal government. Savings and loans only make loans secured by real property from deposits, upon which they pay interest slightly higher than that paid by most banks. are taking a wait-and-see stance on whether to charge non-customers a fee to use their automated teller machines automated teller machine (ATM), device used by bank customers to process account transactions. Typically, a user inserts into the ATM a special plastic card that is encoded with information on a magnetic strip. to gain access to their accounts at other financial institutions, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. officials the major financial institutions. Starting April 1, Visa, which operates the Plus ATM network, and Mastercard, which operates the Cirrus ATM network, began allowing financial institutions to charge non-customers for using their ATMs, said Susan Forman, Visa spokeswoman. Previously, ATM card An ATM card (also known as a bank card, client card, or cash card) is an ISO 7810 card issued by a bank, credit union or building society. Its primary uses are: That tab is known as a foreign bank fee. But the other institution, whose ATM was used for the transaction, did not charge a fee. San Francisco-based Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. , Irwindale-based Home Savings of America and Chatsworth-based Great Western Bank are evaluating whether or not to institute the charge, officials from those companies said. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Wells Fargo armored carriers of bullion. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1147] See : Protectiveness Wells Fargo company that handled express service to western states; often robbed. [Am. Hist. & Co., which completed its acquisition of L.A.-based First Interstate Bancorp First Interstate Bancorp was a bank based in the United States that was taken over in 1996 by Wells Fargo. It was headquartered in Los Angeles. The name has continued to be used in the banking world by used after the merger by First Interstate Bank who had been using the last week, "does not have any plans" to begin charging the fee, said spokeswoman Kathleen Shilkret. Glendale-based Glendale Federal Bank, which has become famous for bashing big banks and impersonal banking services, issued a commitment last week not to institute the new charge. Prohibition removed Until now, Visa and Mastercard prohibited charging an "access fee" or a fee to access another company's ATM. But since 1989, 15 states have passed laws - which supersede To obliterate, replace, make void, or useless. Supersede means to take the place of, as by reason of superior worth or right. A recently enacted statute that repeals an older law is said to supersede the prior legislation. Visa and Mastercard policies - that allow ATM issuers to charge non-customers a fee for using their ATMs, Forman said. In addition, banks and savings and loans have complained they are losing money on the machines, especially on traits located in remote areas. So Visa changed its policy and "Mastercard followed our lead," Forman said. She said so far no California-based banks and no out-of-state banks with California ATMs have applied to institute the surcharge An overcharge or additional cost. A surcharge is an added liability imposed on something that is already due, such as a tax on tax. It also refers to the penalty a court can impose on a fiduciary for breaching a duty. . Wait and see "What is happening is banks are playing a wait-and-see game to see what everyone else is doing," Forman said. Bank officials want to gauge consumer reaction to the fee before instituting it, she said. Some banking experts have said big banks with the largest ATM networks could win new customers who will switch to them in order to avoid paying the fee at their ATMs. Glendale Federal Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen J. Trafton said in a statement, "Wells Fargo and Bank of America are from all reports evaluating the surcharge that will now be available to them to coerce consumers into banking their way." But Trafton predicted that if big banks widely institute the access fee, it will backfire. Consumers will become "fed up with big bank manipulation" and will turn to banks like Glendale Federal, Trafton said. |
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