It Now Costs More to Get Your Money From an ATM

Consider this: $4.52. No, it's not the price of a venti Frappuccino—it's what the average American is forking over this year for each time he or she uses an ATM that isn't part of their bank. The $4.52 is a sum of what your bank and the ATM owner collectively charge. That new average out-of-network fee is up 21% in five years, reports the Wall Street Journal, which cites BankRate's numbers.

The Journal reports that part of the reason why it's getting costlier is because it's actually easier to get money for free elsewhere, for instance as part of a grocery store purchase made with a debit card. Indeed, debit-card withdrawals from ATMs in general have fallen 41% in the last decade; we're doing an average 2 withdrawals per month, compared to 3.4 in 2005. (More ATM stories.)