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Comment by ChrisMarshallNY | Hacker News Reader

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ChrisMarshallNY·

In the 1980s or so, when they first appeared (I'm old). They were free for quite a while.

Folks figured that it was like your local heroin dealer: first one's free.

We knew that it would just be a matter of time before ATM fees started showing up.

At first, they weren't bad, but now, it can cost you five bucks to pull out a sawbuck.

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Why would they be free? Before the ATM we had to go to the bank Friday afternoon or Saturday morning (9-12 only) to get money after pay day. If you couldn't wait in the big-ass line, or if you just had something else to do, then you just didn't have any money! It was ridiculous! The ATM brought revolutionary convenience. You could get twenty bucks at 11pm if you wanted to.

They were free because banks wanted to stop paying tellers. Giving you a financial incentive made years of habit evaporate quickly.

Our incentives were aligned then. I haven't spoken to a bank teller in decades, and it's not like I miss it.

I actually almost never use ATMs, anymore (I use Apple Pay, as much as possible, and plastic, for the rare times it is not accepted). I've had the same five-dollar bill in my wallet for a month. The place that I tended to use ATMs, was when I went to Tokyo, and they are definitely not free, there.

I don't have to pay as long as I use my bank's ATM. The only place that you need cash any more is the marijuana dispensary.

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