How to avoid ATM fees

How to avoid ATM fees

Gyöngyös $7,000,000,000. Yup, it is likely that ATM fees alone will generate 7 billion dollars in revenue this year for the banks. My question to you is Frankenthal “How much of that 7 billion will come from your bank account?”

I spent hours surfing the Internet looking for “good advice” on ways to keep more of your money from being eaten away by bank fees. These days the banks are looking for more ways to generate revenue, and using an out-of-network ATM can cost you as much as $5.00. In addition, your bank could charge you somewhere between $2-$5 for using the out-of-network ATM. Yup, just getting a few bucks from an ATM could cost you as much as $10 in fees. Ouch!

So I spent a bunch of time searching specifically for ways to avoid paying ATM fees to access your money. The advice I found was quite horrible and included “moving your money to Bank of America because they have the most ATM’s.” This advice was not only horrible, but also inaccurate, and it excluded the network of ATM’s offered by credit unions. The truth is that  credit unions have more ATM’s to access your money (without fees) than ANY of the biggest banks. Here are the actual numbers:

Bank of America                                                  16,200 ATM’s

Chase                                                                  15,000 ATM’s

Wells Fargo                                                         12,000 ATM’s

Citibank                                                                9,200 ATM’s (including 7-Eleven)

Credit Union Fee-Free ATM’s                           OVER 28,000!

What your bank does not want you to know is that not only are credit unions easy to join and have less fees in general, but (most) credit union ATM’s are joined together by the CO-OP Financial Services network of ATM’s. This network links the credit union ATM’s together with the ATM at your local 7-Eleven convenience store. So once you join a credit union you will have access to all the credit union ATM’s, plus all the ATM’s at 7-Elevens stores throughout the United States and Canada, without fees.

Now please keep in mind that not all credit unions are part of the CO-OP Network, so if you are planning to join a credit union, please verify they are part of the network to access all 28,000 ATM’s. Also talk with your credit union to verify they have unlimited monthly access to the entire network, without incurring a fee.

To make it even simpler to find a CO-OP network ATM here are a few tips: 

1. Send a text. Simply send a text to MYCOOP (692667) from your mobile phone. In the body of the text enter an address (with city & state), zip code or intersection (with city & state). In about 30 seconds, the service will reply with the CO-OP Network surcharge-free ATM nearest to that location.
2. Download an App. Even download an APP on your mobile phone by searching “COOP ATM” and you can use your APP to locate ATM’s close-by to access your cash, without ever paying bank fees.
3. Use the Internet. Here is the CO-OP ATM locator tool: http://www.co-opnetwork.org/

So the next time you are not close to home, and need access to your cash without fees, you may find yourself saying, “Oh thank heaven for 7-Eleven”.

Source for number of ATM’s: http://consumer-banking.findthebest.com/saved_compare/Big-Four-Banks