RALEIGH, N.C. – The $13 billion State Employees' Credit Union says its policy of not surcharging nonmembers for their ATM access has saved North Carolina consumers $50 million over the course of 2005. SECU operates 886 ATMs statewide through its Cash Point ATM network and does not surcharge any cardholders at any of them, preferring instead to pass the savings on to the consumer. The credit union said that the Cash Point network saw 25 million ATM transactions in 2005 which, at the prevailing rate of $2.00 per-transaction, would have cost North Carolina consumers $50 million in 2005. "State Employees' Credit Union works hard to provide as many low-cost services as possible to member-owners," said Leanne Phelps, senior vice president with SECU. "Through our extensive no-surcharge ATM network, SECU has been able to reach far beyond its 1.25 million members to save money for all North Carolinians. As a credit union, we celebrate the idea of people working together in a common, community effort to assist one another. By having no-surcharge access to ATMs, even folks who were not members of SECU saved over $50 million to use for other important financial needs," she said.