An Australian bank customer was left outraged after being charged $7.50 to withdraw his own cash at an ATM in Queensland.
A photo of the huge fee at a NAB branch in Townsville was shared on social media on Sunday, with hundreds of Australians criticizing the charge.
‘That’s criminal!’ one person commented.
“I remember a few years ago the big banks promised to keep their ATMs commission-free.”
‘Banks are authorized thieves!’ said another.
‘Obscene. They charged me $3.90 last week and I thought it was bad – yours takes the cake,” wrote a third.
The Australian who shared the image said he was not using a foreign or credit card. to withdraw the $100 from your account at Ubank, a subsidiary of NAB.
They decided not to continue with the withdrawal and went to a nearby store, where they were charged $2.80 less.
The $7.50 fee at a NAB ATM in Townsville (pictured) was shared on social media on Sunday.
The Australian who shared the image said he was not using a foreign or credit card to withdraw the $100 from his account at Ubank, a subsidiary of NAB (pictured).
A NAB spokesperson said the fee was “very strange” and neither NAB nor Ubank typically charge fees for such transactions.
“We are reviewing the ATM now to resolve the issue and have contacted the customer to refund any charges incurred,” the spokesperson said.
In recent years it has become increasingly difficult to find ATMs in Australia, let alone ATMs that don’t charge fees.
In 2016, Commonwealth Bank led the industry by reducing its $2 fee for ATM withdrawals, bBut banks began cutting ATM numbers.
The number of bank-owned ATMs has plummeted along with society’s reliance on cash, and many of them have been replaced by third-party machines that charge around $3.
Meanwhile, Bendigo Bank has quietly introduced a fee for customers who want to withdraw money from branches.
Australia’s sixth largest bank will now charge $2.50 for cashless branch withdrawals.