STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 5, 2002
LONDON -- Head of banking for NatWest, Gordon Pell, said "foreign" charges -- those made to non-customers who use the bank's ATMs -- will be dropped on January 1, 2001, according to www.thisislondon.co.uk.
HSBC may follow suit, but it hasn't made a decision yet. However, many believe their cashpoint charges will bite the dust, with an announcement expected soon.
British banks Halifax and Abbey National, plus others, have made similar decisions, leaving Barclays and Lloyds still levying "foreign" ATM fees.
In an unpopular move earlier this year, the UK banks voted to charge fees to non-customers using the banks' cash machine networks, on top of "disloyalty" fees that already exist. This angered customers who say they resent paying to retrieve their own money, especially those who live in areas where there are few bank branches.
Online financial services providers with no cash machines of their own have begun to bite at the heels of the UK banks who have heavy investments in their ATM networks, estimated to cost between 70 and 100 million pounds a year.
This plus discontented customers are considered the main motivations behind the UK banks' decision to eliminate the "foreign" fee ATM charges.
