ATM fee cap provides a reasonable profit

An owner of several automated teller machines lambastes (May 21 letter by Steven Gendreau) Sen. Tom Harkin's recent efforts to lower the maximum ATM transaction fee to 50 cents (May 21 letter). He claims this will create economic disaster. The idea that Harkin's consumer protection legislation would hurt any business, other than those reaping excessive profits from consumers accessing their money, is ludicrous.

Until the National Banking Association succeeded in getting Iowa's ATM consumer protection law overturned in 2002, it was illegal for the owner of an ATM unit to charge consumers any transaction fee.

The letter writer's small ATM business may not be profitable with a maximum 50-cent transaction charge, as opposed to current federal law with no limit to what he can charge. However, banking experts have determined that Harkin's proposed 50-cent transaction fee cap still provides banks with a per-transaction profit, albeit at a more reasonable level.

Sara Riley

Cedar Rapids