PNC Joins Small But Growing Bank Trend Toward Free ATM Usage

Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank said today it will reimburse its customers for ATM fees they incur when they use other banks' ATMs anywhere in the world. The program, which begins Sept. 1, means the bank's 2 million retail-banking customers will receive rebates for ATM surcharges as well as the so-called foreign fee the bank charges when customers use machines other than those owned by the bank. Bank customers will pay $4.2 billion this year in surcharge and foreign fees, according to Bankrate.com (Digital Transactions News, April 19). The move follows similar programs introduced by at least two other banks in recent months in the mid-Atlantic market banking market. Also, MB Financial Inc. in Chicago said in June it would reimburse its customers for fees incurred on any machine worldwide so long as they maintained a $2,500 minimum balance. PNC, a unit of The PNC Financial Services Group Inc with 3,600 ATMs, says it is responding to customer feedback. It says customers reacted favorably to a regional free-ATM program it has run in the Washington, D.C., area since May 2005, when it acquired Riggs Bank. “Our research found that consumers dislike paying for access to their own money, so we are responding with truly free ATMs,” said Joseph C. Guyaux, the bank's president, in a statement. The bank is introducing three new checking-account products, on two of which it will reimburse ATM fees without qualification. On the third, a free account, the bank requires a $2,500 minimum balance for reimbursement. There is no transaction limit. Currently, ATM transaction surcharges are averaging $1.60, while foreign fees average $1.29, for a total toll of $2.89 when a cardholder uses a machine not owned by his bank, according to Bankrate.com. Some 81% of banks charge foreign fees, down from 89% a year ago, the research firm says.