October 21, 2004
News.com.au: Australians pay almost $500 million a year -- more than $1 million a day -- in ATM fees. Consumers pay a fee every time they withdraw cash from ATMs not provided by their bank.
Australia now has 21,550 ATMs, almost four times as many than a decade ago. About half of them are operated by independent businesses such as Cashcard and Direct Cash.
Of the 741 million cash withdrawals last financial year, 48 percent were at ATMs not provided by the user's own bank.
Australia's Reserve Bank is currently investigating the regulation of the EFT/POS and payment systems; a review of the ATM system is expected to follow.
See related stories from our archives: Australia's Reserve Bank considering regulation of debit fees, takes no action on ATMs, Australia's Cashcard recommends replacing ATM interchange with direct charging model and Australia's central bank may take action on ATMs