Washington Mutual Gradually Abandoning ATM Fees

ARLINGTON, Va. – Washington Mutual, a major bank based in Seattle, has begun to gradually stop charging “foreign” ATM users fees for using their ATMs. The bank has called the ATM fees “nuisance fees” in press reports, and WAMU spokesmen have said that Washington Mutual has adopted a policy of eliminating them nationwide. The bank will continue to charge its own customers a $1 fee for using other banks ATMs. The most recent area to see no-fee Washington Mutual ATMs is New York City, but the bank announced a similar no fee policy in Chicago last week and has not charged fees in any of its California machines in many years, a spokesman said. As the ATM/EFT industry has become more competitive, some ATM deployers have eliminated fees or adopted lower fees in an attempt to lure more transaction volume to their ATMs.