Updated position paper emphasizes importance of variable ATM fees

By ATMmarketplace.com

The ATM Industry Association has announced the release of an updated edition of its 2006 ATM convenience fee position paper. The revised version is available free of charge to association members and nonmembers alike, an ATMIA press release said.

In the original version of the paper, ATMIA asserted that the application of a convenience fee to ATM transactions is a fundamental economic and business right of independent ATM deployers and financial institutions.

Further, the organization argued, the practice promotes greater convenience, choice and fee transparency for consumers.

If ATM operators are unable to set convenience fees that respond to supply and demand, market dynamics inevitably will lead to a decline in convenience ATM availabiltiy, as is happening already in some regions. This, in turn, will reduce expenditure of cash at retail locations, thereby damaging consumer economies around the world, the press release said.

In its revised position paper, the ATMIA emphasizes that, in light of reduced interchange and continuing erosion of network competition, such freedom is absolutely critical.

The association is urging networks to repeal any rules prohibiting differential variable ATM convenience fees, saying that in a dual-sector industry, such a step will make ATM networks far more competitive and sustainable than they are today.

"The lack of flexibility to reflect differences in the cost of accepting transactions from the various ATM networks has been an issue for more than a decade," said David Tente, executive director of the ATMIA U.S. chapter. "And the costs and impact of other changes brought about by EMV migration further exacerbate the problems in the U.S.  Relief, in the form of rule changes, is needed for the health of the entire industry."

The revised position paper is now available for free download by ATMIA members and nonmembers.