ATM Fees In Atlanta Are Nation's 5th Highest: Study

ATLANTA, GA — If you feel like you're getting fleeced every time you use an ATM that's not owned by your own bank, a new study suggests you may not be wrong.

Metro Atlanta residents pay the 5th-highest out-of-network ATM fees of any of the nation's 25 major cities, according to the study by financial site Bankrate.com.

ATM fees hit a record high for the 11th year in a row according to the study, which has surveyed accounts for the past 20 years. In the U.S., the average total cost of an out-of-network ATM withdrawal is now $4.69, up 2.6% from last year's $4.57.

In Atlanta, that figure was $5.05. That puts the metro area behind only Pittsburgh, New York. Washington D.C. and Cleveland. Dallas had the lowest ATM fees of any of the cities studied, at $4.07. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Nationally, ATM fees have gone up 55% over the past decade, according to the study.

Atlanta-area banking customers also pay the 10th-highest overdraft fees in the country, with an average of $33.80, the study says.

"When it comes to ATM and overdraft fees, a little advance planning can go a long way," said Bankrate.com chief financial analyst Greg McBride. "Knowing where you can make free ATM withdrawals and monitoring your available balance to avoid overdrafts are as close as your smartphone."

Consumers are usually hit with two different fees when using an out-of-network ATM. There's the surcharge assessed by the owner of the ATM on non-customers and the fee charged by the account holder's own bank for using another company's ATM.

The bankrate study showed the average surcharge is now $2.97 (up from $2.90 last year) and the average fee from the customer's own bank increased 3% to $1.72. Both of those numbers are all-time highs.

Read the Bankrate.com report here.

Here's a look at the top 5 and bottom 5 cities in the Bankrate.com study:

Highest Average ATM Fee:

• Pittsburgh — $5.19
• New York — $5.14
• Washington D.C. — $5.11
• Cleveland — $5.11
• Atlanta — $5.05

Lowest Average ATM Fee:

• Cincinnati — $4.30
• Seattle — $4.29
• San Francisco — $4.23
• Milwaukee — $4.19
• Dallas — $4.07

Photo via Pixabay