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Westpac follows Commonwealth Bank in scrapping ATM withdrawal fee
By Deborah Snow
Westpac and ANZ have followed the Commonwealth Bank in axing fees for customers of other institutions using their ATMs to withdraw cash.
"Australians have complained for some time about being charged fees for using another bank's ATM," CBA's group executive, retail banking services, Matt Comyn, said in a statement on Sunday.
"As Australia's largest bank, with one of the largest branch and ATM networks, we think this change will benefit many Australians and hopefully demonstrate our willingness to listen and act on customer feedback."
By lunchtime on Sunday, Westpac had announced it was following suit. The bank's group executive for consumer relations, George Frazis, said non-Westpac Group customers would no longer be charged an ATM withdrawal fee when they used one of Westpac Group's 2925 ATMs.
Matt Comyn, group executive, retail banking services, said Australians had complained for some time about being charged fees for using another bank's ATM.Credit: Louie Douvis
The move extended to non-Westpac customers using St George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA ATMs as well.
"We want all Australians, whether they are Westpac Group customers or not, to benefit from one of Australia's largest ATM networks" Mr Frazis said..
Reserve Bank of Australia data shows Australians made more than 250 million ATM withdrawals from banks other than their own last year.
CBA will ditch the $2 withdrawal fee for customers of other banks at its 3400 CommBank-branded ATMs. Bankwest ATMs and customers using overseas cards will still attract a fee.
On Sunday, consumer organisation Choice called on the other major banks to follow the Commonwealth and Westpac's lead, saying if they did not, it will be more evidence of a failure of competition in the domestic banking sector.
"Whether it's failing to compete on interest rates or to compete on ATM fees, it has been really clear to us that the domestic major banks feel no competitive pressure," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey told Fairfax Media.
" We would expect them to fall like dominos now."
"We have called repeatedly for an immediate review of banking sector competition to be run by the Productivity Commission and we think its really important that has now got underway".
He welcomed CBA being first mover on ATM fees while noting "this is one bank that needs a good news story" given recent controversies with CommInsure, the bank's financial planning division and its referral to the courts over alleged non-compliance with money-laundering legislation.
Earlier on Sunday, Comparison site RateCity also welcomed CBA's scrapping of ATM fees saying it was an "egalitarian decision ...that should be matched by the other banks".
The site's money editor Sally Tindall said the decision would free up CBA's 3,400 ATM's for every Australian to use and could collectively save Australians "hundreds of millions of dollars a year"
ATM withdrawals have been steadily declining for several years, but until recently the number of machines around the country had continued to grow.
Banks and other owners of ATMs have said their returns from the machines are being crunched, as they spend more money on maintaining machines that are being used less.
According to RBA data released in March, ATM withdrawals have slumped to their lowest levels in 15 years amid the wider shift towards a cashless economy.
The number of ATM withdrawals in January fell by 7.7 per cent compared to last year. It follows two consecutive years of ATM withdrawals falling by more than 6 per cent as more shoppers use cards, including contactless payments, where they would have previously paid in cash.
An RBA publication last year found the average direct charge for a foreign withdrawal in July 2015 was $2.33, up from $2.04 in 2010 and $1.96 in 2009.
The move by CBA comes after the bank was last month embroiled in a scandal relating to alleged breaches of money laundering laws after allowing thousands of large cash deposits to wash through its ATMs.
with AAP