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Good Question: Why Do We Pay ATM Fees?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Getting cash can cost you. You know the feeling. You need money, but don't have time to go to your bank's ATM. So you accept the charge to get cash from an out-of-network ATM.

Bankrate.com reports ATM fees have increased by 4 percent over the last year. Minneapolis-St. Paul is tied for the 6th highest ATM fees in the country, with an average of $4.71 per transaction.

So why do consumers pay a fee to get cash?

"The bank pays for a machine, it pays for someone to fill the machine, it pays for software. There are a lot costs associated with ATM machines," Tess Rice, General Counsel for the Minnesota Banker's Association, said.

And fewer people using out-of-network ATMs means higher fees per transaction. Bankrate.com reports the average ATM fee for Minneapolis-St. Paul is $4.71. That's above the national average at $4.52.

Rice said you can get your money for free. 62-percent of people pay nothing at all.

"So you can use your own banks ATM, you could use an ATM in your banks network or you can go to a grocery store or gas station, a lot of them will let you get cash back on your debit card," Rice said.

We are better off in Minnesota than in some other cities, according to Bankrate.com. Atlanta tops the list of most expensive at an average of $5.15 per transaction. That's followed by New York. San Francisco came in at the lowest, at $3.85 per transaction.

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