If it feels like you're constantly paying more to withdraw your own money from an ATM not affiliated with your bank, it's not just your imagination.
ATM fees across the nation hit a record high for the 11th straight year, according to the latest study from financial site Bankrate.com. People who use out-of-network ATM fees are often hit with two fees -- the charge from the ATM owner and the one from the consumer's bank for using another outlet's ATM.
Over the last decade, those combined fees are up a staggering 55 percent, Bankrate.com says. And New Yorkers have it worse than almost anyone in the nation.
According to Bankrate.com, New York has the second highest average ATM surcharge fee ($5.14) of 25 major metropolitan areas, coming in just a few cents behind Pittsburgh ($5.19). (Hey, at least we have good barbecue.)
Nationally, the average surcharge from an out-of-network ATM ($2.97) combines with the average fee charged by the accountholder's bank ($1.72) for a total of $4.69.
Where can you find the lowest fee combination? Dallas ($4.07) and Milwaukee ($4.19).
Bankrate looked at 10 banks and thriefs in each of 25 large U.S. markets and surveyed associated ATM and debit card fee policies from 247 institutions offering checking accounts to come up with the data. For more details on the study and methodology, click here.
