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Greek ban on ATM charges and limits on other banking fees comes into force today - EURONEWS
On Monday morning a new regulation from the Greek Ministry of Finance came into force, completely banning charges for cash withdrawals from ATMs of Greek banks.
Until now, any customer who withdrew cash from an ATM of a bank that wasn't their own provider, was charged extra.
At the same time, a national limit of €1.50 was introduced for withdrawals from third-party ATMs, such as those machines located in various tourist areas and not belonging to a particular bank.
What does Greece's new ATM law include?
The news regulation provides the following for ATM users in Greece:
Zero fees for cash withdrawals between all banks participating in the DIAS interbank system.
Abolition of charges from third-party providers when there is a direct or indirect shareholding link with the customer's bank.
Zero charges also from third-party providers in municipalities where only one ATM operates.
€1.50 maximum charge limit for withdrawals from third-party ATMs throughout the country.
Free balance enquiry for all cardholders, regardless of bank or ATM provider.
One-off charge of €0.50 for sending remittances via digital channels (web, mobile, internet banking) from third-party providers, on par with bank charges.
Legislative enshrinement that no bank can charge its customers for cash withdrawals.
What led to this decision
It all started a few weeks ago when a mainstream bank in Greece replaced hundreds of its ATMs with similar machines from a third-party provider, in which it remained a shareholder.
Customers of that bank found that when they withdrew cash they were being charged a fee of more than €2.
The issue reached the Greek Parliament, with the opposition strongly criticising the government over the issue and the Finance Ministry responding that it would not allow banks to introduce such charges.
