ATM fees

What if there was a simpler solution to avoiding an ATM fee than running all over town looking for an in-network machine? One entrepreneur says he's found it: Instead of paying a fee to use an out-of-network ATM fee, Clinton Townsend, the founder of Free ATMs NYC, proposes consumers watch an ad, the New York Daily News reports. Townsend has already installed one of the free ATMs at a New York City music venue.

Practically nobody ever reads the disclosures that came with a bank account, and that's no surprise -- they average 111 pages long. That's way too much fine print, say Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who are calling on banks to cut those disclosures down to just one easy-to-comprehend page.

If you decide to switch banks to avoid fees, here's a list of handy reminders to make the transition smooth and complete, courtesy of NetBanker, an online finance and banking website:

Consumers' wallets are really getting the squeeze these days as banks continue to raise ATM and bounced check fees. Meanwhile, the percentage of free checking accounts is on a steady decline, according to a new Bankrate survey.

Banks lost billions in the financial crisis, and now face profit-squeezing regulations. And make no mistake: They're looking at your balance to fix their bottom lines. Here are four ways your bank takes your money, and what you can do to hold on to more of your hard-earned cash.

Despite a federal law requiring full disclosure of all fees, many banks continue to give consumers the runaround, according to a recent report from the national consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG. During a six-month survey of 392 bank and credit union branches in 21 states (as well as 12 online...

It's been well-documented that banks are hiking fees for users -- and blaming government regulations for "making" them do it -- for the past several months. But the news that Chase launched a pilot program that charges non-Chase customers a $5 ATM fee to use Chase machines in Illinois has even...

Think before you swipe. Fees at some ATMs are hitting $5 as banks seek to re-coup lost revenue over debit cards and overdraft charges due to federal regulatory changes.

ATM fees have become even more of a budget buster in the last year, especially in cities like Seattle, Denver, Houston and Miami where fees ATM owners charge non customers are, on average, 30 cents or more higher than in other parts of the country, a recent Bankrate study found. Bankrate's 2010...

With new laws clamping down on some credit card and account fees, banks are likely to find other ways to offset the lost income. Among the possibilities: Hefty increases in annual credit card fees or an end to free checking.