Husky Den ATM to remain surcharge-free

While the once surcharge-free Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU) ATM on the Ave. received a 50 cent surcharge this month, a similar WSECU ATM in the Husky Den will remain surcharge-free, according to representatives from the UW and the credit union.

Both ATMs will remain surcharge-free for WSECU members, but non-members may get charged by their bank for using an outside bank's machine.

The decision to put a surcharge on the Ave. ATM came because of the many non-WSECU-member deposits being made in the credit union's machines.

"Because most of WSECU's ATMs are considered full service, WSECU members were subsidizing non-member's deposits," said D. Lou Stewart, WSECU vice president of support services.

The decision not to put a surcharge on the HUB ATM was, in part, to attract new members and to differentiate the WSECU ATM from surcharging ATMs in the same building, said Stewart.

According to Eric Mendelsohn, UW real-estate officer, there is an agreement between the University and the credit union that the ATM will remain surcharge-free. In fact, the real-estate office was originally charged with the task of finding a surcharge-free ATM after the ASUW passed a resolution on the subject. The WSECU and a handful of Bank of America ATMs were installed on campus last year as a result.

According to Mendelsohn, a US Bank ATM will soon be installed in the new IMA building. Additionally, a WSECU surcharge-free ATM will be installed on the UW Bothell campus.

There are no plans to install new surcharge-free ATMs on the Seattle campus.

-- Brian Alexander