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First National first in Nebraska to add surcharge

July 6, 1999

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OMAHA, Neb. -- First National Bank of Omaha is the first bank in Nebraska to issue surcharges to users whose cards aren't issued by Networks, the state's EFT network. The move came almost two months after the board of directors for Networks, a Lincoln-based group owned by the state's financial institutions, voted May 1 to allow transaction surcharges. Networks operates the Nebraska Electronic Transfer System for ATMs. Motivation for the surcharge was prompted by the board's move to establish a $1.50 limit on the fees banks charge each other for interchange fees. The surcharge will help make up the difference for that cap. First National, which has 132 ATMs, will only charge $1 to customers who use a card issued by another financial institution that is not a member of Networks. It does not plan to charge its own customers a fee. Nebraska had been the last of three states -- Iowa and Connecticut -- to ban ATM surcharges. In Connecticut, the debate over surcharging has evolved into legal wrangling between two nationally-chartered banks -- Fleet Financial and First Union -- and the State Attorney General's office. The case is pending before the State Supreme Court.