News

Chase ends higher surcharge-fee trial

May 1, 2011

JPMorgan Chase & Co. rolled back its ATM surcharge fee to $3 per transaction after testing higher surcharge fees in two states.

New York-based Chase, operator of the nation's second-largest ATM network with 16,265 machines at the end of the first quarter, began testing Feb. 8, 2011, a $5 surcharge fee in Illinois and a $4 surcharge fee in Texas. Before the tests, surcharge fees in Illinois and Texas were $3 per transaction. Banks charge an ATM surcharge fee to non-bank customers.

"The tests ended in late March, and now fees are $3 in Illinois and Texas, the same as everywhere else," said Tom Kelly, a bank spokesperson. Kelly declined to discuss the reason for the decision.

Although Chase dropped its test for higher ATM surcharge fees, the financial institution on May 25 will charge a $2.50 per transaction foreign fee in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas. Foreign fees elsewhere in the United States will be $2.

Foreign fees for withdrawals from non-Chase ATMs outside the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be $5 per transaction, bank officials wrote in a letter to customers.

Banks charge foreign fees when its customers withdraw funds from a competitor's ATM.