ATM fees

Background

Automated teller machines (ATMs) offer self-serve around-the-clock access to cash and basic banking services. Depending on the machine and who owns it, consumers may also be able to deposit or transfer funds, pay bills, or check their account balances (see Annex 3: Demand for cash and Canada’s ATM network).

The range of services available at an ATM depends largely on who owns and operates the ATM being used, and on where the machine is located.

ATMs that are owned by a financial institution and located at a branch offer the institution’s customers a full suite of services, including cash withdrawals, deposits, transfers, bill payments, and balance inquiries. Services for non-customers are generally limited to cash withdrawals.

ATMs that are owned by a financial institution but not located at a branch offer similar services to the institution’s customers, with the exception of deposit-taking. Services for non-customers are generally limited to cash withdrawals.

Privately owned and operated white‑label ATMs generally provide consumers with cash withdrawal services only.

According to data from the Bank of Canada, the Canadian ATM network is comprised of approximately 60,000 ATMs, of which about 18,000 (or roughly 30%) are bank-owned. Some digital-only financial institutions have proprietary ATMS while others rely instead on the ATMs owned by other financial institutions and independent ATM operators.

The principal shared network that links ATMs across Canada is operated by Interac, a privately owned corporation governed by Canada’s major financial institutions. ^{Footnote 1} Interac routes transaction requests (e.g., cash withdrawals and balance enquiries) between the ATMs and consumers’ banks.

Fee structure

ATM withdrawals usually count toward the number of transactions included in a consumer’s account plan. If a consumer exceeds their monthly transaction limit, excess transaction fees apply, increasing the cost of withdrawals.

Cash withdrawals made at ATMs owned by the consumer’s bank are typically included in the account plan at no charge.

When consumers use ATMs that are not owned by their bank, fees apply. ATM fees are typically charged on a per-transaction basis (e.g., per withdrawal). Consumers can incur multiple fees during a single ATM transaction, including:

ATM network access fee: Fixed fee charged by the consumer’s bank when the consumer withdraws cash from an ATM that is not owned by that bank. Fees charged to withdraw cash at an ATM outside of Canada are typically higher. Network access fees are not disclosed to the consumer during the transaction through an on‑screen message.

ATM convenience fee: Fixed fee charged by the ATM operator when a consumer uses an ATM that is not owned by the consumer’s bank (this includes independent white-label ATMs or ATMs owned by another financial institution). Convenience fees are disclosed to the consumer during the transaction through an on‑screen message and are included in the total amount withdrawn.

Cross-border debit fee: Variable fee charged by the consumer’s bank for ATM withdrawals made outside Canada. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the Canadian-dollar amount after conversion of foreign currency amount at the rate set by the payment network used. The cross-border debit fee is applied to the total amount withdrawn, including the ATM convenience fee charged by the operator of the ATM outside of Canada.

Depending on the terms of the consumer’s account agreement, some banks and fintechs may reimburse certain fees charged by third‑party ATM operators.

Costs vary by ATM ownership and financial product provider

¹ Some digital-only banks have proprietary ATMs where customers can withdraw for free (e.g., Manulife Bank, Simplii, Tangerine).

² Some digital banks and fintechs reimburse consumers for up to $5.00 in convenience fees.

Disclosure

Banks are required to disclose all applicable fees in account agreements. Information related to ATM fees charged by the consumer’s own bank is disclosed as part of the broader account agreement and fee schedule. For ATM-related fees, these disclosure requirements are intended to ensure that consumers are informed of applicable charges before completing an ATM transaction and do not incur fees that were not disclosed.

International practices

In the United States, consumers who withdraw cash at an ATM owned by another financial institution or white-label operator typically face 2 separate charges: a convenience fee set by the ATM operator, and a network access fee charged by their own financial institution. Under U.S. federal regulations, all ATM fees must be disclosed to consumers before the transaction is completed, and consumers must actively consent to proceed.

In the UK, most cash withdrawals and cash deposits across the LINK network are free to use for cardholders using a debit card issued by one of their members. LINK allows both free-to-use and pay-to-use transactions on their networks, with free-to-use ATMs funded directly by card-issuing banks and building societies through interchange fees. Any ATM operator wanting to deploy cash machines must join LINK as a member.

A small number of ATM operators charge convenience fees to consumers for cash withdrawals. UK rules do not allow double charging; that is, an operator can either charge consumers directly to use their ATM or can claim an interchange fee from the card issuer, but they cannot do both. Fees must be clearly disclosed on screen, and fee-charging ATMs must also display external signage stating that a fee applies.

By contrast, Canada does not have legislative requirements requiring on-screen ATM fee disclosure. Instead, disclosure is governed by general fee‑disclosure requirements under the Financial Consumer Protection Framework, as well as by Interac network access rules that permit ATM convenience fees only when they are disclosed on screen at the time of cash withdrawal.

Key findings and implications

Transparency

In practice, ATM fee disclosure at the time of cash withdrawal is fragmented across multiple sources. Consumers do not receive a single, consolidated view of the full transaction cost before confirming a withdrawal.

Account-level fees—such as network access fees and excess-transaction fees—are disclosed in account agreements and fee schedules provided by the consumer’s bank.

ATM convenience fees are disclosed separately by ATM operators through on-screen messages.

Account plans with “unlimited transactions” do not necessarily mean that all ATM withdrawals are free, depending on the type of ATM used and the account’s terms. Consumers may still incur convenience fees when using an ATM owned by a third-party operator.

Key finding 7: Consumers may not know the total cost of an ATM withdrawal before completing the transaction

Even when each fee is disclosed separately, consumers may not anticipate that multiple charges can apply to a single ATM withdrawal or understand how their usage patterns affect its total cost. As a result, they may have difficulty determining, before completing a transaction, the total amount they will pay, how that amount is calculated, and which party charges each fee.

Key finding 8: Stacking of ATM fees can increase the cost of withdrawing cash

ATM fees are a cost of accessing cash and can vary significantly depending on how and where a withdrawal is made. The impact of ATM fees is not uniform for consumers.

When consumers use an ATM operated by another bank or a white-label operator, they may incur both a network access fee charged by their own bank and a convenience fee charged by the ATM operator.

Consumers in rural or remote areas, as well as those in urban neighbourhoods with a high concentration of independent or white‑label ATMs, have few lower‑cost options for withdrawing cash.

Those who rely more heavily on cash—whether due to personal circumstances, payment preferences, or limited access to digital alternatives—and who must use ATMs frequently are less able to avoid these charges. These users are also more likely to incur account‑level transaction fees when ATM withdrawals exceed the transaction limits included in their account plan.