# Never used an ATM? Then you can be in charge of our new banking regulation! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156 "2010-05-20T18:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/21 "2010-05-20T20:17:58Z")
I second the question about what fees? I get hit by no fees when I go to my own bank’s ATM, and they are everywhere, thankfully. I do get hit by fees at other banks’ ATMs. And using your ATM card in the grocery line is fine, and I do it all the time, but getting cashback sometimes has a fee. It depends on how much you buy and how much cashback you want. (Like, if you buy $100 worth you can get, say, $20 of cashback without a fee. Numbers totally made up.) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/22 "2010-05-20T20:18:27Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I understand the overarching point about not being acquainted with technology, but I’d be more concerned if he was a regular user of ATM’s rather than not using them at all. Using an ATM is about the worst financial decision this side of payday loans. Paying an immediate 10-20% surcharge for accessing your own money is just crazy and could be avoided in 95% of cases with just a little bit of foresight. > > I see people in a freaking grocery store using the ATM and paying $2 for the privledge, when they could easily grab a pack of gum or an apple and get cash back for free, coming out about $1.25 plus some food ahead in the deal. > > People who use ATM’s with any sort of regularity are more financially illiterate than the guy in the OP. I use my bank’s ATMs with great regularity. They’re free for account holders. Am I financially illiterate? On the rare occasion when I have to go to a different ATM, the one I use charges a buck fiddy. I regularly withdraw $200. That’s less than a 2% premium for the convenience. I think comparing that to usurious lending rates is rather absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/23 "2010-05-20T20:19:56Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > What’s this 10-20% surcharge? Does your bank charge this amount, or at all, for using their ATMs; mine doesn’t. Even when other banks do charge, they tell you so and how much, so you can choose to abort the transaction if you don’t want to pay the fee. > > I thought getting cashback from the grocery store when buying something was free also. Because I needed more than their maximum of $50.00 cashback, I did two transactions. I got hit with two $3.00 fees. ld be careful about using their ATM cards and giving away money needlessly. A $3 fee to get $20 cash is a 15% surcharge. A guy I was with paid a $5 surcharge in a Las Vegas casino once. I couldn’t believe it. Where I live, all of the grocery stores will give you cash back for free with any transaction. They also have ATM’s that will charge you $2 or $3 for exactly the same service. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/24 "2010-05-20T20:26:37Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I understand the overarching point about not being acquainted with technology, but I’d be more concerned if he was a regular user of ATM’s rather than not using them at all. Using an ATM is about the worst financial decision this side of payday loans. Paying an immediate 10-20% surcharge for accessing your own money is just crazy and could be avoided in 95% of cases with just a little bit of foresight. What a strange world you live in. All the ATMs in my neighborhood are free. How do I know? Because they all have huge signs on them that say “FREE ATM!”. Or maybe it’s just a political message and John Atm has been unjustly jailed? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/25 "2010-05-20T20:33:10Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > A $3 fee to get $20 cash is a 15% surcharge. A guy I was with paid a $5 surcharge in a Las Vegas casino once. I couldn’t believe it. > > Where I live, all of the grocery stores will give you cash back for free with any transaction. They also have ATM’s that will charge you $2 or $3 for exactly the same service. Well, it was nice of you to give the exact figure you were basing that 15%-20% on in your first post. You worded your post as if everything you said was true for everyone everywhere everytime and then saying “People who use ATM’s with any sort of regularity are more financially illiterate than the guy in the OP.” based on that. Even expressing the surchange as a percentage, like it **friedo** said, the fee goes down to 2% when you take out $200, not the usurious rates you insinuated were common. Others have also pointed out the prevalence of grocery stores who charge for cashback. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/26 "2010-05-20T20:53:58Z")
If you use an ATM from your own bank, they are (or should) be free. But if you use it from another bank, I’ve seen rates anywhere from $1-$3 per transaction. Now, while you can agree to accept those fees, what you don’t agree to (or, technically, what you’ve forgotten you’ve already agreed to) is that your own bank will ALSO charge you a fee on their end for the transaction, basically doubling your fee to use the ATM. It’s a subtlety missed by most people who use ATMS every week and I can’t imagine that the Senators who are confused by those strange boxes with Braille on them have even thought to ask a question regarding this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/27 "2010-05-20T21:04:02Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > What a strange world you live in. All the ATMs in my neighborhood are free. How do I know? Because they all have huge signs on them that say “FREE ATM!”. > > Or maybe it’s just a political message and John Atm has been unjustly jailed? Who is John Atm? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/28 "2010-05-20T21:12:38Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > Even expressing the surchange as a percentage, like it **friedo** said, the fee goes down to 2% when you take out $200, not the usurious rates you insinuated were common. Others have also pointed out the prevalence of grocery stores who charge for cashback. It’s actually less than **1** % out of $200. :smack: I guess I am a financial bozo, after all. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/29 "2010-05-20T21:24:40Z")
[The inventor of the ATM just died.](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/business/global/21barron.html?hpw) He was 84 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/30 "2010-05-20T21:25:34Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > p.s. – If the guy is “modern” enough to have fake hair and a facial then he’s certainly hip enough to use an ATM. He was born in 1941 so he’s younger than my Dad, who’s been using one for decades as well. I’ll just email my mom who was born in 1942 and see what she thinks of this (if she’s not too busy internet banking, mind you). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/31 "2010-05-20T21:27:20Z")
I don’t use ATMs. After all, why should I pay a fee to get my own money? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/32 "2010-05-20T21:50:34Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Who is John Atm? He’s John, at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/33 "2010-05-20T22:28:12Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > As a younger person, I don’t really understand why folks like my dad have such an aversion to ATMs. Perhaps someone with a little more life experience can enlighten me. Because they have their lives organised in such a way that they don’t need to use ATMs, and therefore they don’t see any reason to do so. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/34 "2010-05-20T22:56:55Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Because they have their lives organised in such a way that they don’t need to use ATMs, and therefore they don’t see any reason to do so. Well, sure. I mean, I get that. But my dad hates standing in line at the bank as much as I do. So, why on Earth would one choose not to use this fancy machine, available at any hour, likely with no line? Literally the only time I go into the bank is when I need to cash a check (not deposit, but literally just cash). That’s it. My dad just said that yesterday he used an ATM for the first time in 10 years, because the teller was just closing and couldn’t take him, so they told him to try the ATM. He was amazed that he could make a deposit up until 8 PM and have it clear the same day. Mind you, he still said he’ll walk into the bank, given the choice. Is it just not trusting technology? Were ATMs 10+ years ago extra sketchy or something? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/35 "2010-05-20T23:15:26Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > After all, why should I pay a fee to get my own money? You shouldn’t. Get a bank with free ATM service. (Like, I don’t know, fucking _all_ of them.) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/36 "2010-05-20T23:17:51Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Is it just not trusting technology? Were ATMs 10+ years ago extra sketchy or something? Possibly, but I don’t think so. ATMs have been in common use in Australia for nearly 30 years. As I said, for many older people there’s just no need to use them, so why bother? You note that ATMs save time. That may not be a key imperative for some. And in any case, it’s often not even true. My local bank branch generally has longer queues outside at its ATMs than it has inside for the tellers. I usually take advantage of this by going into the branch to do my banking. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/37 "2010-05-20T23:21:09Z")
I remember ATMs when I was a child. They were called Teller/24s. I’m 46. Now, I rarely use ATMs. I really have no need for cash in my daily life. The last time I used one was last winter when I was at an awards banquet and I needed cash for the bar, so I hit the ATM in the hotel lobby. It was probably the first time I’d used one in a year. So, even though I rarely use ATMs I’m not “afraid” of the technology. I have used the ATM at the bank to make after-hours deposits, etc., for years. It’s just that, as someone else mentioned, my life is arranged totally differently that I don’t need ATMs and rarely need cash. Well, I take that back. I do get some cash at the grocery store to pay my kids for their extra-pay chores. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/38 "2010-05-20T23:22:11Z")
I see we have a replacement for “It’s a series of tubes!” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/39 "2010-05-20T23:37:11Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Because they have their lives organised in such a way that they don’t need to use ATMs, and therefore they don’t see any reason to do so. My dad is 60 and he eschews most technology, including the regular use of credit cards. But he needs cash. So he organizes his life around going to the grocery store once a week or so to do shopping and get cash from the ATM. For free. Direct deposit was hard on the man, but once it became his only option, he liked it. Then he no longer had any reason to go to the bank, so he started to use the ATM to get cash. It is so much more convenient. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156/40 "2010-05-21T02:38:32Z")
Love the article. Holograms. Ha! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-used-an-atm-then-you-can-be-in-charge-of-our-new-banking-regulation/540156.md?page=3)