Suncorp customer rebates at rediATMs…sort of

After hearing through the grapevine that Suncorp bank customers could use rediATMs without incurring a direct charge fee, I looked into it further. I could not find any information on the Suncorp bank website so I tried the Suncorp ATM locator. 

However, using Suncorp’s ATM locator shows some rediATMs, depending on the search location, as “Designated non-Suncorp - ATM Operator Fees waived”. I did not understand exactly what that meant, so I contacted Suncorp customer service by email. They responded to me on 12th March 2009 with: 

Suncorp has recently announced that a number of Designated Non-Suncorp ATMs will be
made available for your convenience.  These are selected Redi Tellers and other
 ATM’s.

This means that at these devices, the ATM Operator Fee for withdrawals and balance
enquiries that is charged to your account if you proceed with the transaction, will
be subsequently waived. As these devices are not owned by Suncorp, the ATM Operator
Fee will still appear on the screen at the time of the transaction and will be
debited from your account; however, the fee will be waived and reimbursed on your
next statement. A number of designated Non-Suncorp ATM’s will be made available for
customers in Queensland and Interstate areas.

To view a list of Suncorp and Designated Non Suncorp ATM’s, please copy and paste
the below link into your Internet Browser:

suncorp.com.au/suncorp/servicelocator/

The Designated Non Suncorp ATM’s are included in this list, and are the only ATM’s
that we will waive the fee.

I am not sure how Suncorp announced that there would be access for Suncorp customers to “Designated Non-Suncorp ATMs” by way of a waived fee, but I cannot find it on their website. There is not even a mention of it on their FAQ page for the introduction of ATM Direct Charging when we accessed it today.

Now, a warning to Suncorp customers standing at their local rediATM assuming they will have the direct charged fee waived by Suncorp…BE CAREFUL. The waived direct charge fee only applies to rediATMs (and other ATM brands) designated by Suncorp. The ONLY way of knowing if the direct charge fee, which you must accept to get your money, will be subsequently waived by Suncorp is to check the ATM locator on their website. Not very convenient unless you are carrying an internet enabled mobile phone or your laptop with mobile internet access…and who doesn’t in the new century. 

Here are some examples of what you need to be careful of as a Suncorp customer:

Travelling from sunny Brisbane to gloomy Melbourne (or vice-versa) you stop in Dubbo and need some cash to take with you to the Western Plains Zoo. There are no Suncorp ATMs in Dubbo, but there are six rediATM locations. However, at only one of those rediATM locations will the direct charged fee be waived according to the Suncorp ATM locator.

When in Melbourne, you are staying with relatives in the outer north eastern suburbs, say around Eltham. There are rediATMs in both Eltham shopping centre and the nearby Greensborough shopping centre about 1km away. However, neither of these have waived fees for Suncorp customers. You need to head over the Yarra river to the Pines shopping centre for a rediATM which is a 7km drive from Eltham. And if that one is out of service, the next closest Suncorp ATM to Eltham is an 11km drive away in Preston.