Answer
What fees does an ATM charge in Australia?
There is really only one fee a cardholder sees at an independent ATM, and it must be shown before the withdrawal completes. Here is what it covers, who receives it, and what it means for a business hosting the machine.
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Short answer
What fees does an ATM charge in Australia?
An independently operated ATM in Australia charges a single direct-charge withdrawal fee, disclosed on screen before the transaction is confirmed and free to cancel at that point. The fee is set by the ATM operator, not by the cardholder's bank and not by the venue. It is split between the operator, who funds the machine, cash and servicing, and the host venue, which receives an agreed share. A host business pays no fee at all — under free placement it receives money rather than paying it.
Definition
What a direct charge is
A direct charge is the fee an ATM operator charges the cardholder at the moment of withdrawal, rather than billing the cardholder's bank. It is the standard model for independently operated ATMs in Australia, and it is why the machine shows a fee screen and asks you to accept or cancel before dispensing.
Two consequences follow from that model. The cardholder always sees the price before paying it, and the amount does not depend on which bank issued the card. A customer using a machine in a pub pays the same disclosed fee whether their account is with a major bank, a mutual or a digital-only provider.
Fee by fee
Every charge a cardholder can encounter, and who receives it
The last row is the one venue owners ask about most. Hosting a machine under free placement carries no rental, no service charge and no share of losses. The commercial risk of the hardware, the cash float and the maintenance sits with the operator, and the venue's exposure is limited to the floor space it gives up.
| Charge | When it applies | Set by | Received by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal direct charge | Every cash withdrawal at an independent ATM | ATM operator | Split between operator and host venue |
| Balance enquiry | Only where the operator enables and discloses it | ATM operator | Operator, or split by agreement |
| Declined transaction | Not charged — a decline dispenses nothing | n/a | Nobody |
| Cancelled at the fee screen | Not charged — cancelling is free | n/a | Nobody |
| Cardholder's own bank fee | Rare domestically; common on overseas-issued cards | Card issuer | Card issuer |
| Currency conversion | Overseas-issued cards only | Card issuer or scheme | Issuer or scheme |
| Host venue fee | Never — the venue is paid, not charged | n/a | n/a |
The split
How the withdrawal fee is divided
The direct charge has to cover several real costs before anyone earns from it: the terminal, the cash float sitting idle inside it, cash-in-transit or a technician's time to load it, the switching and settlement fees per transaction, connectivity, monitoring, and fault attendance. What remains is shared between the operator and the venue.
A venue's share is agreed in writing before installation and paid on transaction volume, so it is verifiable against the machine's own reporting rather than taken on trust. Because the share is per withdrawal, the number that matters for a venue is withdrawals per month — not turnover, and not the number of customers through the door.
| Withdrawals per month | Indicative monthly venue revenue | Typical site profile |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Modest — often a secondary benefit to cash-in-till | Small café, low-traffic retail |
| 300 | Meaningful monthly line item | Convenience store, suburban hotel |
| 600 | Strong — usually the reason the site was surveyed | Busy pub, service station, club |
| 1,000+ | High enough that ownership or rental is worth comparing | Major club, high-volume 24-hour site |
Reading the bands
Why we publish bands instead of a dollar figure
These are volume bands rather than quotes. Because the share is negotiated per site and the fee itself can change with regulation, any specific dollar figure should come from an operator looking at your actual trading pattern, and be stated in the agreement.
Rules and sources
Who regulates ATM and card fees in Australia
Payment system fee rules in Australia are set through the Reserve Bank of Australia's review of retail payments regulation. The RBA has announced changes to card surcharging that take effect on 1 October 2026, and its published conclusions paper and FAQs are the authoritative statement of what changes and when.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Consumer law framework administered by the ACCC governs how prices and payment-method pricing are displayed to customers, which is why on-screen disclosure and clear signage matter as much as the fee level itself. Where a business wants to price differently by payment method — for example offering a discount for cash — that sits under the same pricing and consumer-law guidance.
We track each announcement as it is published, with a link to the original release, on our RBA card payment fee changes page, and set out what a cash discount involves on the offering a discount for cash page. This page is general information only and is not financial or legal advice; confirm any fee or pricing decision against the primary source and your own adviser.
- The withdrawal fee must be shown on screen before the transaction is confirmed.
- Cancelling at the fee screen must cost the cardholder nothing.
- The operator must be identifiable on the machine, with a fault-report contact.
- A host venue's revenue share should be stated in the agreement, not described verbally.
- Transaction reporting should be available so the venue can verify the share it is paid.
Comparison
ATM fees versus card acceptance costs
For a business, the two numbers to compare are what an ATM costs it (nothing, under free placement) and what accepting cards costs it (a merchant service fee on every card sale). Cash taken from a machine on site and spent at the counter carries no acceptance cost to the business at all, which is why venues with high card volumes often look at both at once.
That is a different question from what the cardholder pays, and it is the reason we publish EFTPOS fee comparisons alongside ATM placement. A venue can lower what it pays to accept cards and give customers a cash option in the same conversation.
| Payment path | Cost to the business | Cost to the customer |
|---|---|---|
| Cash withdrawn from a hosted ATM, spent at the counter | Nil — venue earns a share | Disclosed withdrawal fee |
| Card payment at the terminal | Merchant service fee per transaction | Nil, subject to current surcharge rules |
| EFTPOS cash-out at the counter | Merchant service fee plus staff time and till float | Usually nil |
FAQs
Questions people ask
Independent ATMs charge a single direct-charge fee set by the operator, always shown on screen before the withdrawal is confirmed. The exact amount varies by operator and machine, which is why the disclosure screen — not a published rate card — is the reliable place to check it.
Yes. Under a placement agreement the host venue receives an agreed share of the withdrawal fee, paid on transaction volume and reconcilable against the machine's transaction reporting.
Under free placement, nothing. The operator funds the terminal, installation, cash float, monitoring and repairs. Venues that instead rent or buy a machine pay a monthly rate or a purchase price and keep a larger share of the fee.
No. A declined transaction dispenses no cash and attracts no direct charge, and cancelling at the fee disclosure screen is also free. A cardholder's own bank may apply its own fees separately, which is most common on overseas-issued cards.
It depends on the operator. Where a charge applies to a balance enquiry it must be disclosed on screen in the same way as a withdrawal fee, so the screen is again the place to check before proceeding.
The 1 October 2026 changes announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia concern card surcharging rather than ATM direct charges. They change what merchants pay and can pass on for card payments, which affects the relative attractiveness of cash — so we track each announcement, with links to the original RBA releases, on our fee-changes page.
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Keep reading
Related pages
- Free ATM placementWhat free placement covers, who qualifies and how the revenue share works.
- ATM installation in AustraliaThe full installation guide: siting, power, anchoring and commissioning.
- ATM surcharge fees explainedHow the withdrawal surcharge is set, disclosed and shared.
- How ATMcash worksThe model, who pays for what, and how a venue earns.
- RBA card payment fee changesDated summaries of each announcement, linked to the original release.
- Offering a discount for cashWhat a cash discount involves for an Australian business, and the rules that apply.
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