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Report: Bank Fees Up Dramatically, Detroit Ranks 5th Worst

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) A new survey found Detroit banks charge their own customers the fifth-highest fees in the nation for leaving their network for an ATM transaction -- $1.86 per transaction.

That's according to new research from Bankrate.com, which discovered the out-of- network fee is in addition to the average surcharge of $2.55 that Detroit ATM operators charge to non-customers.

That means a customer charged both fees would be out $4.41 for each out-of-network withdrawal.

Also, the average ATM surcharge (the fee charged by an ATM operator to a non-customer) rose 4 percent to a new record of $2.50.  This is the eighth straight year that the average ATM surcharge increased.

And for the first time, 100 percent of the banks that Bankrate.com surveyed charge non-customers to use their ATMs.

There's more bad news for bank customers in the survey that included 10 banks in each of 25 large U.S. markets, as the study found the percentage of free checking accounts offered by U.S. banks continues to fall as other checking fees continue to rise -- with only 39 percent of non-interest checking accounts surveyed available to all customers free of charge, down from 45 percent a year ago, and way down from the peak of 76 percent in 2009.

"Checking accounts that are free on a standalone basis continue to diminish. But a free checking account is still within reach of the majority of Americans, whether by getting the fee waived through direct deposit or moving to a bank or credit union that still offers free checking," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst, in a press release. "And consumers that practice good financial habits should rarely – if ever – incur ATM and overdraft fees."

More findings:

  • The average monthly service fee on non-interest checking accounts is a new record of $5.48, up 25 percent from last year.  The average balance requirement to avoid the fee is $723 – up 23% from the previous record that was set last year.
  • The average monthly service fee on interest checking accounts is a new record of $14.75, up four percent from last year.  Avoiding the fee requires an average balance of $6,117 – up nine percent from the previous record that was set last year.
  • Overdraft fees  increased 1.4 percent from last year, in line with the Consumer Price Index, to a new high of $31.26.  For the fourth straight year, the most common overdraft fee is $35.

 

 

 

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