ATM foreign withdrawal in Mount Pleasant slightly above national average

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The average automated teller machine in Mount Pleasant charges $2.76 for non-member transactions, significantly more than the $2.33 national average reported by the Wall Street Journal.

But students and other consumers can avoid the higher fees by knowing where to pick up their cash. Central Michigan Life looked at 20 ATMs in Mount Pleasant, with charges ranging from $2 to $3.25. Most ATMs charged $3.

The observed $2 ATMs were located at a Shell gas station, 1911 S. Mission St. and a Next Door Store, at 1041 Mission St., operated by MetaBank and Cash Depot respectively. The $3.25 ATM was located at Soaring Eagle Casino, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd., and is operated by CasinoCash.

Most banks do not charge fees to their customers at terminals those banks own, said Rob Shuster, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Independent Bank.

“If you’re a customer of the bank, there are no fees,” Shuster said. “It’s only if you’re not a customer of the bank there’s a foreign ATM charge.”

Shuster said ATM fees are determined through several variables including maintenance and operations, costs of service and competition with other financial institutions.

The significant operating costs of ATMs come from network fees and the fact that ATMs carry a significant amount of cash that is not earning interest, he said. Also, if an ATM is not connected to a bank branch, the bank is responsible for rent in that particular location.

Shuster said the cost of operating an ATM is fairly significant, and they are not designed to create profit depending on the location of the machine.

“If there’s not a lot of foreign transactions, then you’re not going to generate much (revenue) in those ATM foreign charges, and again, you’re not charging your own customers,” Shuster said. “You’re only generating those fees by non-customers using the machines … In general, the machines don’t generate a profit, rather they allow us to provide service 24/7 at reduced cost.”

Independent Bank does not operate ATMs inside of restaurants or bars, casinos and gas stations, he said, but does have locations at retail outlets or strip malls, including one on Mission Street.

Cash Depot owns several ATM locations in Mount Pleasant, and 4,000 nationwide according to its website. Most of these locations are in restaurants, bars and convenience stores.

Clinton Township senior Stephanie Jaczkowski said she makes a special effort to avoid ATM fees, and has not encountered many instances where she needed to pay one.

She said it is worth her time and energy to walk to an ATM where she would not receive a fee.

“If you take money out three times a month, it adds up really fast,” Jaczkowski said.

Dave Charles, Cash Depot president, said ATM owners determine fees and locations themselves.

He said there are few barriers to ATM ownership; a few background checks and, unless the applicant has gone to jail for printing money before, they are allowed to own a machine.

“Virtually anyone can buy them and set their own prices, like a bubble gum machine,” Charles said. “You could buy an ATM and put it in your garage.”