ANZ and Westpac banks in Australia have wiped the fee for customers using another bank's ATM - but ANZ says they won't do the same here.
The Australian-owned Commonwealth Bank led the charge across the Tasman - wiping "other bank" ATM fees.
ANZ was one of three others that followed suit in Australia but won't do the same in New Zealand because they say the cost and revenue structure of ATMs in Australia is different to New Zealand.
"New Zealand's competitive banking industry means we have a high ATM accessibility," says ANZ spokesman Stefan Herrick.
ANZ says a relatively small number of customers choose to use other bank's machines.
That exact figure is not data tracked by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand - but the Australian Reserve Bank calculates that Australians made 250 million withdrawals from bank ATMs other than their own last year.
That means Australian financial institutions made more than $500 million from those fees over the financial year.
Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten called the fees a "rort". The country's treasurer says he will monitor that the banks do not just recoup the money in higher charges elsewhere.
The average charge for Australians was $2 - while most banks in New Zealand charge $1 for any withdrawal at a bank other than their own. The exception is TSB Bank whose customers can use other bank's ATMs for free and customers of the Co-operative Bank can use Westpac ATMs for free.
"We also do not charge non-TSB Bank customers for use of our ATMs," a TSB Bank spokesperson says.
"Although some other banks may in turn charge their customers for using external ATMs, we don't wish to prohibit people from using our ATMs."
New Zealanders visiting Australia will still have to pay an ATM fee for using an international card.
Newshub.
