Tag Archive for: atm fees

Tweens, Teens, and ATMs

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Should Teens Carry an ATM Card

Should Teens Carry an ATM Card?

The thought of your tween or teen armed with an automatic teller machine card might send shivers up your spine. After all, every place that young people go, there tend to be plenty of ATMs: at sports stadiums, concert venues, at shopping malls, and on so many city streets. You might imagine your child out with his or her friends, continually stopping at ATMs all night long so he or she can spend, spend, spend – and worry about the consequences at another time.

That doesn’t mean you should try to block your kids’ access to ATMs until they’re ready to leave for college. ATMs can provide emergency cash whenever your kids are stranded, or whenever they’ve lost a purse or wallet and need to pay for transportation home. What’s more, ATMs can teach them important lessons about monetary usage and about establishing a monthly budget and then sticking to that budget no matter what.

Setting Boundaries for your Teen’s ATM Card

It’s important to sit down with your kids before you hand them an ATM card to discuss restrictions. Just as you assign them a curfew and establish other rules, set limits as to how often they’re allowed to make ATM withdrawals, so as not to drive the cost of their ATM fees too high. Once a week is probably a good number. Also, instruct your kids to only use the ATMs belonging to their bank, again to avoid unnecessary fees. And make sure you review ATM safety guidelines with them, so they can avoid thieves and skimmers.

Sometimes it’s better to test your kids’ spending habits before entrusting them with full ATM privileges. One way to do that is by giving them a prepaid card. A prepaid card is similar to a credit card, but it uses funds that you have already deposited into an account. Every time your child makes a purchase, the amount of that purchase is deducted from the account. Once your child has demonstrated to you that he or she can spend in a responsible, thoughtful manner, and isn’t prone to splurges, you can then upgrade him or her to an ATM card. Be aware that some prepaid cards come with an ATM function, but you can usually disable that function if you want. You should realize, too, that a number of prepaid cards charge high fees.

In some ways, issuing a card for an automatic teller machine makes it easier to monitor your tween or teenager’s spending habits. If your child works, and/or you give her an allowance, then she might be spending a lot of cash without your having the slightest idea of where that money’s going. But if your son or daughter uses an ATM card to get cash as needed, you can have a clearer sense of when and where that money is being spent. Make it a requirement, therefore, that your child bring home all his ATM receipts, just as he does all his report cards. From time to time, leaf through those receipts and make sure there aren’t any huge withdrawals or suspicious locations listed.

By the same token, an ATM card can make a child more careful with cash. Think about it this way: if your child were to attend a concert with a big wad of cash that she’d saved up from her afterschool job, she might be inclined to spend the entire sum on unnecessary souvenirs. But if she has to go up to an ATM and type in a number, knowing that her parents are going to see the receipt, she might well end up spending a lot less money that evening.

Advertisements Vs. ATM Fees

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Advertisements Vs. ATM Fees

ATM fees are just one of those touchy subjects that can make even the meekest of personalities take a turn and show a wild side. That could be mainly because ATM fees vary so widely from one ATM owner to the next and from one financial institution to the next. This can make it virtually impossible sometimes to get a reasonable grip on what’s fair to outrageous to pay. Of course, for the customer, fees are about paying the lowest amount as possible. But for the ATM owner, fees are an integral part of doing business, so while there is a desire to be reasonable, they must also stay competitive in the market just to stay on level with other ATM institutions.

Creative Advertising

While assessing ATM fees are certainly an important part of doing business, they’re not always welcomed or embraced by customers. There can be a lot of complaining about the rates, and even requests for refunds from customers who may decide to challenge the fee amounts based on several criteria. At any rate, the ATM owner has to become creative at ways to keep his customers happy enough to continue doing business with his establishment. And, at the same time, the owner must try to develop a workable solution that will keep a crucial and much-needed revenue stream coming into his financial business.

ATM advertising is a possible solution that owners can implement that may help to solve some of the customers concerns. It’s an on-screen video message where the customer agrees to watch a pre-recorded advertising message in return for reduced or an elimination of ATM surcharges. The customer is given this option when they begin making their transaction, so there are no worries that the commercial will just simply “play” for them, without their permission. Infringement on a customer’s time in that way can be annoying, so ATM owners want to be sure be aware of that possibility and offer the customers options.

With this type of marketing and advertising, both the customer and the ATM owner are appeased on different levels; the advertiser for agreeing to play the advertising video compensates the ATM owner, and the customer (possibly) pays a significantly reduced bank fee in exchange for watching the advertiser’s sales pitch. The sales pitch usually won’t take any longer to view than it would to make an ATM transaction, so there is no lengthy, inordinate amount of time spent watching video commercials while standing at the ATM machine. Usually, the ads will be anywhere from 10-30 seconds, just enough time to capture the customer’s attention and make a lasting sales impression.

The ATM owner and the advertiser will work out and negotiate the terms of the advertising contract. They will determine how long, how frequently and what style of commercial is best suited for the machines. Varying factors can determine ad costs, which is why negotiation is crucial. Since this type of advertising is vastly different from print or even television advertising, it’s important to look at the overall marketing package in terms of quality, relevance and style and not just length. For instance, in some cases, the advertiser will need to negotiate the rate based on the length of the commercial, whether it’s 10 seconds or 60 seconds, especially if it’s for a well-known product or brand.

Coupons and More Savings

Another feature that gets the customers attention is the tear-off coupon that’s at the bottom of their banking receipt. These receipts are good for other services or products that are with local businesses in the area, encouraging customers to keep their business with local establishments. This also incentivizes the business owners to place ads with the ATM machines, especially if they’re trying to target a certain demographic or entice the foot traffic that surrounds the area where the ATM is located.

What makes these types of transactions so worthwhile is because the advertisements are targeted specifically to ATM-style audiences, so it’s something (a product or a service) that would interest the customer. The customer does however have the option to “opt-out” of the feature and choose to not watch the videos. If the customer does go this route, they usually will have to agree to pay the ATM fees.

 

The Reason for ATM Fees

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It’s not always a bad thing, but talking to a few banking customers will give you a lot of insight about how they feel on the subject of ATM fees. They will tell you that paying outrageous ATM fees, for them, is sometimes annoying and even alarming. It can be quite alarming if the customer has to use an ATM at a location where they weren’t expecting to get such a high usage rate attached to their transaction. For the ATM owners, the more profits that they can charge and obtain, the better it is for their business’ bottom line. But for the customer, finding the ATM with the lowest to no ATM transaction fee is going to be the ideal situation.

Great for the Owner

The Reason for ATM Fees

Without a healthy bottom line, the ATM owner doesn’t have the financial resources he needs to provide a quality service to his customers, not to mention a much-needed convenience that some customers love. ATM fees allow owners to offer their customers the latest software updates for their transactions, a faster processor on the machine, equipment that’s in excellent condition and the peace of mind in knowing that the machine will always be able to accommodate their cash requests whenever they need it to. Not to mention also that ATM owners are furiously competing with one another on getting the bulk of the ATM business traffic, so it’s in their best interest to offer customers an attractive deal in return for their business.

Great for the Customer

For the customer, exorbitant ATM fees could mean less trips to the ATM, or, going out of their (convenient) way to find a machine that charges less that machines that are closer to them. Some customers will even go out of their way to transact with ATM machines that charge anywhere from $.50- $2.00 less than the machines that are closer to them, all to save as much money as they can. However, when the customer takes his business elsewhere, the ATM owner could possibly feel the effects of it and may feel compelled to lower their rates in order to draw that customer back.

So, who should profit more and be better accommodated? The ATM owners… or the customers?

Where Do ATM Fees Go?

As far as ATM fees go, sometimes these charges are implemented solely for the customers who are non-members. That means that if a customer doesn’t already bank with an institution or have an account with that bank, they may be charged an ATM fee in order to perform a transaction by withdrawing money or using another banking service. In other cases, relatively fewer, fees are often charged to all customers, regardless of whether or not they have an account with that particular banking institution. One of the biggest complaints that customers have of exorbitant ATM fees is that since there isn’t a human teller helping them with their transaction, there is no reason why the fees have to be so incredibly high, or at best, no reason why there has to be such frequent and periodic steep increases just to access that bank’s financial services.

Fees…For What?

One of the main reasons as to why there are ATM fees is simply to manage this service and to keep it running smoothly and conveniently for the bank or ATM owner’s customers. In fact, there is software that has to be upgraded on a routine basis, that which is often covered with fee services. The machine also has to be repaired on occasion, or at the very least, maintained for service. There is also the insurance responsibility that is required for ATM machines that owners have to take into account in case of theft, natural environmental causes or other issues. When a customer is a member of a bank, these types of maintenance fees are built into either the customer’s monthly fees or through fees to their accounts if their balances fall below a minimum balance requirement.

So while having ATM fees assessed to customers is not at all a “waste,” it helps when customers understand the need for these types of fees and why some banks charge one amount while other banks charge another. The best thing for ATM owners to do to keep a steady stream of business is to keep their fees reasonable but comparable to what their competition is charging in the market. For customers, it’s a good idea to try and be as consistent as possible with one banking institution so as to cut down on the amount of fees that they pay out, but ideally it’s best to be a member of the banking institution where they frequently use the ATM machine. This will help to ensure that their fees stay stead