IMGCAP(1)]
Westpac Banking Corp., facing customer opposition, will stop charging its customers for using ATMs operated by other financial institutions or companies, a spokesperson for the Australia-based bank tells CardLine Global. The move comes a week after new ATM-fee rules went into effect in Australia. The rules allow ATM owners to charge users of their machines directly instead of collecting fees through issuers. The rules also require ATM operators to be more transparent about their fees. Last week, Australia's ANZ Banking Group said it would stop charging customers for using so-called foreign ATMs (CardLine Global, 5 March). Westpac had charged at least 25 Australian cents (16 U.S. cents or 13 euro cents) as a foreign-ATM fee, the spokesperson says. ATM operators also imposed surcharges that typically were much greater.
