STRATEGIC PARTNERS
January 2, 2000
HARTFORD, Conn. -- It's the beginning of an era in Connecticut today, where Fleet Bank and BankBoston are levying $1 convenience fees on non-customers at more than 500 ATMs in the state. This action follows a protracted legal fight between the two banks and the state over the fees. A state Supreme Court ruling last month declared the fees legal. With 518 machines, the merged banks now own 28.7 percent of the ATMs in Connecticut, based on the 1,806 machines in the NYCE network. That share will fall to 24 percent later this year after Fleet-BankBoston divests about 85 ATMs, one of the conditions of the merger. Charlotte, North Carolina-based First Union National Bank added the surcharge to its roughly 100 ATMs in Connecticut last month. The two largest Connecticut-based banks -- People's and Webster -- have not yet decided whether they will collect the fees. A Fleet spokesman said signs will be posted on ATMs warning of the surcharge, and giving users the option of cancelling their transactions to avoid it. According to Fleet, it has lost up to $15,000 a day in revenue in Connecticut for each day it was not allowed to collect the fee. Over three years, that total would have amounted to up to $15.8 million.
