(14 September 2010 – Australia) The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have accepted an agreement between Suncorp and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank not to charge each others’ cardholders a transaction fee at any of their ATMs.The ACCC’s chairman, Graeme Samuel, said in a statement that the watchdog considers the agreement to be ‘pro-competitive’.
“The ACCC considers the agreement between Suncorp and Bendigo Bank not to charge each other’s cardholders for ATM transactions will be pro-competitive, assisting to ensure that they are not at a competitive disadvantage to institutions with larger ATM networks, Mr Samuel said.
Prior to authorising the Suncorp/Bendigo agreement, the ACCC gave members of the rediATM network and Feesmart network authorisation not to charge each others’ cardholders for transactions at ATMs within their network.