ATM Fee-Notice Litigation, Part I: Electronic Fund Transfer Act Basics

Originally published February 9, 2012

During recent months, plaintiffs across the country have commenced hundreds of cases in federal courts claiming that ATM operators failed to post physical signage on or at ATMs notifying consumers of fees imposed for ATM transactions. In most—if not all—of these cases, the plaintiffs received on-screen notice of the fees before withdrawing funds from the ATMs. This is because the typical ATM requires a consumer to respond to an electronic query and accept the fee before the fund transfer can be completed. Despite receipt of on-screen notice, plaintiffs allege that the failure to post or maintain physical signage of ATM fees violates the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ("EFTA"),¹ thereby exposing defendants to liability for damages, costs, and attorneys' fees.