|
|
It's not your imagination. Bank of America really did get less convenient. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank has hauled off more than 1,500 ATMs from shopping malls, grocery stores and gas stations this year, the bank confirmed to The Huffington Post on Monday.
| Do You Like this Article? Then Like Us on Facebook. |
That means customers will have to pay at least $2 to use another bank's automated teller -- or take hike to find a Bank of America location to get fee-free cash. The shrinkage comes as the bank focuses on cost-cutting and Americans change how and where they use ATMs.
Tara Burke, a spokeswoman for the bank, said that most of the locations losing ATMs were those with limited access, and were machines that only dispensed cash, rather than those accepting deposits. More than half of the bank's deposits are made through an automated teller, she said.
Burke added that new, full-service machines will be added in bank-branded 24-hour locations in the future. She declined to elaborate. Bank of America ATMs are still available in airports, she said.
According the latest earnings report from June 30, the bank had 16,220 ATM machines, a decrease of nearly 9 percent since the start of the year. The bank said one-time ATM reduction is part of a drive to slash $8 billion from expenses by 2015, Bloomberg reported.
The move underscores the bank's strategy to shed some of its more unprofitable customers. "We have 42 million retail customers," said CEO Brian Moynihan last fall. "Many of those don't contribute or overcome their cost-to-serve."
Source: Huffington Post | Catherine New
