AK says ATM fees are poorly disclosed

Austria’s Chamber of Labour (AK) says fees at cash machines are not clearly displayed, after testing 29 ATMs in Vienna, ORF reported. Of four operators tested, only IC Cash charged a fee, but the notice was barely visible.

The AK said the fee information appeared on screen for such a short time that customers could hardly notice it. IC Cash charged 2.50 euros per withdrawal; Euronet, Telecash and Payment Services Austria charged no fees. A printed receipt was provided for only one of eight IC Cash withdrawals, which the AK called a clear shortcoming.

Finding the locations of machines operated by third parties was also difficult, the consumer advocates said. They described the search for Euronet machines as almost impossible. Euronet also limits withdrawals to 200 euros per transaction. Some ATMs in Austria had already attracted attention over this limit during the summer.

Most Austrian banks follow a standard withdrawal limit of 400 euros, an Oesterreichische Nationalbank spokesman told the APA news agency at the time. But providers are not required to follow that standard, and independent ATM operators have introduced lower limits for business reasons, he said.

The AK called for fees to be displayed clearly at the start of a withdrawal, as required by the Payment Services Act. It also wants machines to show a notice about any costs, third-party ATMs to be clearly identified and location searches to be more transparent.

The AK also supports widespread access to cash and its acceptance in shops. It opposes blanket exclusions announced with signs such as No cash. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank has also opposed such exclusions and called for broad access to cash and widespread acceptance.