News

Aussie central bank mulls mandatory fee notices

The Reserve Bank of Australia wants ATM operators to provide a fee notice at the beginning of a transaction rather than the end so that customers may opt out of high fees.

July 21, 2014

The Reserve Bank of Australia is reportedly considering enacting a requirement for ATM operators to provide an ATM fee notice at the beginning of a customer transaction. The RBA has recommended, but not mandated, such notices since 2011.

According to a report by news.com.au, ATM operators currently do not disclose off-us fees until the ATM user has completed a transaction.

The RBA is concerned that not giving consumers the option to opt out of a transaction (and fee) inhibits price competition among the ATM deployers.

“If the aim is to drive down ATM fees through competition, you are not going to achieve that by burying fee information halfway through the transaction,” Matt Levey of the consumer watchdog group Choice told the publication.

The Australian Bankers Association opposes an advance fee notice, saying that it would increase transaction times, to the irritation of consumers.