Sydney, 31 August, 2007: The Australian Banker’s Association (ABA) said with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) announcement of a process to introduce ATM direct charging, customer education of the new ATM system must commence today.

As announced by the RBA, the ATM pricing system will be changed as of late next year.¹  The changes will only directly affect transactions where a bank customer uses an ATM owned by another institution or business²  (this is known technically as a ‘foreign’ ATM transaction). The proposed changes are not likely to directly affect transactions where a customer uses an ATM owned by their own bank or network.

Currently, when a bank customer withdraws cash from another institution’s ATM,  the customer’s own bank solely levies the fee-for-service.

In the new system, the ATM owner will be able to levy a charge directly to the cardholder. The customer’s bank will not have a capacity to limit this directly levied charge. However, because this direct charge can vary between ATMs, the ATM owner will be required to disclose the amount of the charge before the ‘foreign’ ATM transaction is completed and the customer will have the option to cancel the transaction without incurring a fee.

David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: “Overseas experience indicates that the introduction of ATM direct charging for ‘foreign’ transactions causes customer confusion. The ABA and its member banks will be working hard to ensure this confusion is minimised. Given the RBA is effectively requiring these changes, it is essential the RBA takes a leading role in and commits resources to consumer education regarding the impacts of the reforms.”

For further information:

Heather Wellard
Director, Public Relations
Phone: 02 8298 0411
Mobile: 0409 830 439

ENDS