Senator proposes capping ATM fees at 50 cents

As legislators hammer out the details of a consumer finance bill, one of the proposals in the measure is an appealing one: Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) introduced an amendment that, if passed, would limit ATM fees to 50 cents.

As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, Harkin came up with the proposed ATM fee based on calculations that the Office of Thrift Supervision made in 1997. They determined the per-transaction cost back then at 27 cents. Harkin figures now, with inflation, the cost per transaction is about 36 cents.