ATM fees and reimbursement: what out-of-network cash really costs

Two different fees on one withdrawal

When you use an ATM outside your bank's network, two parties can charge you. Your own bank may charge an out-of-network fee under your account's fee schedule. The ATM's owner may add a surcharge for using its machine. Ally's deposit agreement notes that an owner may charge even when you do not withdraw money, for example to check your balance, and that the fee comes straight out of your account.

Regulation E governs the owner's fee. Section 1005.16 requires the operator to disclose that a fee will be imposed and its amount, on screen or on paper, before you are committed to paying it, and allows the fee only if you choose to continue after seeing the notice. Your bank's fee is not on that screen; it is in your account's fee schedule.

What two accounts disclose

The figures are from each bank's pages on October 29, 2026. Fee schedules change, so recheck before you rely on them.

Worked example: weekly cash for a year

The fee amounts are invented, not quotes from any bank or ATM network. Jordan withdraws $60 every week, 52 times a year, from the same out-of-network ATM near work, which shows a $3.50 surcharge. We compare three accounts: a hypothetical bank that charges $2.50 per out-of-network withdrawal, an account like 360 Checking that charges no out-of-network fee and does not reimburse, and an account like Ally Spending that charges none and reimburses up to $10 per statement cycle. We assume monthly statement cycles with four or five withdrawals each; check your own cycle.

The hypothetical bank costs ($2.50 + $3.50) x 52 = $312 a year. The no-fee, no-reimbursement account costs $3.50 x 52 = $182. The reimbursing account also incurs $182 in surcharges, but each cycle's $14 to $17.50 exceeds the $10 cap, so 12 x $10 = $120 comes back and the net cost is $62.

Changing the habit changes the answer more than changing the bank. If Jordan takes out $120 every other week instead, that is 26 withdrawals: $156 at the hypothetical bank and $91 at the no-reimbursement account. At the reimbursing account, ten cycles have two withdrawals ($7, fully reimbursed) and two cycles have three ($10.50, $0.50 over the cap), so the net is $1. Using an in-network ATM costs nothing at either real account.

Ways to cut the cost

• Find the in-network ATMs near where you actually are during the week, not just near home; both banks publish locators.
• Take out cash less often in larger amounts, especially if reimbursement is capped per cycle.
• Read the ATM's fee screen and cancel if the surcharge is high; Regulation E lets you walk away before you are committed.
• Check your balance in the app rather than at an out-of-network machine.
• If you want reimbursement, keep the account open through the end of the cycle; Ally pays nothing for a cycle in which the account closes.
• Abroad, count both the ATM owner's fee and any percentage fee from your bank; a reimbursement for U.S. ATMs does not cover them at Ally.

Who should care about reimbursement

Reimbursement matters if you use cash often and do not live or work near an in-network machine. If you rarely use cash, or if a fee-free network ATM is on your daily route, an account without reimbursement costs nothing extra and other features such as branch access, deposit options or overdraft terms should decide. If you deposit cash, check that separately: Ally's agreement says it does not accept deposits through an ATM.