A new survey from Bankrate.com found the fees bank customers encounter when they overdraw their accounts or use ATMs that are not associated with their bank are getting higher.
The average fee for an out-of-network ATM is now $4.35 per transaction, of which $2.77 is the fee banks charge non-customers to use their ATMs and $1.58 is what banks charge their own customers to use the ATMs of others. The average overdraft fee is now $32.74, the sixteenth record high for the fee in a row.
"I expect fees to continue rising in years to come, but at a modest pace consistent with what we saw this year, just as was the case prior to the onset of these regulations," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, according to NPR.
McBride is referring to federal regulations that limit when banks can charge overdraft fees, and those that limit transaction fees charged to merchants.
The Bankrate.com surveyed the largest 10 banks in 25 U.S. markets, which means this is a picture of how big banks operate. Consumers may be frustrated with this trend of rising fees with big banks.
Credit unions that offer lower ATM and overdraft fees than big banks may wish to make this evident in their marketing materials to attract new members.
Another helpful angle to take is helping members avoid overdrafts in the first place. If a credit union has tools like mobile banking or text and email alerts for certain balance thresholds, members should know about them and understand how to use them. This can help members avoid overdraft fees altogether rather than shopping around for the lowest fees possible.