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Study: On average, CUs charge 13% less in foreign-card ATM fees than banks do

August 14, 2012

Thirty percent of America's 50 largest credit unions charge members no ATM fees outside the network or provide at least one free withdrawal per week before a fee kicks in, compared with 29 percent of banks, according to the newly released 2012 Credit Union Checking Survey conducted by Bankrate.com.

But while out-of network policies were similar for CUs and banks, non-member/non-customer ATM charges showed considerable differences. The average foreign card ATM surcharge among CUs is $2.08, down from $2.10 last year. But the average charge by banks is $2.40. The most common CU surcharge amount is $2.00, compared to $3.00 at banks.

The bankrate.com study also found that 72 percent of CUs surveyed offer free checking with no minimum balance, compared with 76 percent last year. However, only 45 percent of banks currently offer such accounts.

An additional 10 percent of CUs said they would waive checking fees on accounts with a minimum balance ranging from $100 to $750. Bank minimums, on the other hand range from $585 for non interest accounts to $5,587 for interest-bearing accounts.

The Bankrate.com survey was conducted from July 5 to July 11, and polled the 50 largest credit unions in the United States. The full survey results are available at www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/2012-credit-union-accounts/.

For more on this topic, visit the trends/statistics research center