High costs of using any ATM are back

Banks won’t absorb withdrawal fees

Beware if you have been using any automatic teller machine to draw cash over the past two months – now that people are returning to work, the banks have reintroduced high charges for failing to use your own bank’s ATM to withdraw money.

If you draw from another bank’s ATM, you will now again incur fees of up to R21.50 per R500 withdrawal.

South African banks agreed to waive ATM cash withdrawal and Saswitch network charges during the lockdown given the restrictions on travel during the coronavirus lockdown.

But now that the lockdown has eased to level three, the banks will no longer absorb these costs, the Banking Association South Africa said in a recent statement.

Normally, if, for example, you bank with Nedbank and make a cash withdrawal from, say, an FNB ATM, you would pay the usual withdrawal fees as well as a punitive Saswitch fee for using another bank’s ATM.

Remember that some of the cheapest withdrawal fees are if you withdraw money at the till or point of sale at some selected grocery stores.

Capitec, for example, charges R8 for every R1,000 or less if you withdraw at a Capitec ATM, but withdrawing cash from your account at Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Checkers or Boxer till-points will only cost you R1.20.

TymeBank lets you withdraw for free at Pick n Pay, but charges R8 if you use another bank’s ATM.

FNB let’s you withdraw up to R2,000 from an Easy account at its own ATMs free, but thereafter you will pay either R2 per 100 or R8 per R100 depending on your package. All withdrawals from certain retailers are, however, free.

The Banking Association says the banks are continuing to help consumers who are struggling to repay their loans, but it now needs to “recover the cost of maintaining and operating ATMs. –

‘‘ Banks continue to help clients struggling to repay their loans