THE CORRECT WAY TO CALCULATE THE ATM REIMBURSEMENT To: tm_help@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov, travel.manager@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov cc: "Sharla R Pierce, Administrative Officer, Reston, VA" Subject: HOPEFULLY, THE LAST CHANGE ABOUT ATM FEES Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 15:10:58 -0500 From: "Carole Nethaway, Secretary (OA), Reston, VA" In a briefing this morning, Susan Sheely (Chief, Travel Mgmt. Branch), stated that NATIONS BANK will be charging its 1.9% ATM fee ONLY ON THE CASH AMOUNT withdrawn......NOT ON A COMBINED TOTAL of the cash plus the terminal fee. WHAT TO DO NOW To calculate the ATM reimbursement: Cash X 1.9% + terminal fee = Reimbursement $100 X 1.9% = 1.90 + 1.50 = $3.40 This is different from the way American Express did it. The traveler's American Express statement would show a charge of 2.75% on the combined total...and the traveler was charged for the terminal fee also. To calculate the reimbursement you had to do this: Cash + terminal fee = total X 2.75% + terminal fee = reimbursement Trying to calculate the ATM reimbursement has certainly been an area of confusion for many people. Susan selected a formula from several examples, which I recently passed on to you via the attached email. Unfortunately, the formula applied to the way American Express had been assessing atm charges, and not to the way Nations Bank handles them. With daily changes, and no statements to review at the time, I'm sure the difference was not readily apparent. Hopefully, this will be the last email about atm fees for a long while! ------- Forwarded Message Return-Path: owner-tm_help Received: from localhost (baisqvarsa.er.usgs.gov [130.11.51.12]) by qvarsx.er.usgs.gov (Geomail 1.2.3) with ESMTP id KAA08659; Mon, 11 Jan 1999 10:13:26 -0500 To: tm_help@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov, travel.manager@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov Subject: THE CORRECT WAY TO CALCULATE THE ATM REIMBURSEMENT Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 10:09:07 -0500 From: "Carole Nethaway, Secretary (OA), Reston, VA" Thanks to Karen Beers, Susan Sheely (Chief of the travel office) has cleared the following example as the correct way to calculate the ATM Fee reimbursement when there is a terminal fee. My hat's off to all of you who have been doing it this way all along. For those of us who have been shorting travelers several cents a voucher...here's an explanation of what/how the banks actually charge the travelers; and an example of how to calculate the reimbursement. EXAMPLE: The traveler asks for a $100 withdrawal at an ATM. The traveler is charged a fee by the "wrong" bank for using its machine ($1.50). Then, when the traveler gets his bill from the bankcard, he's been charged a 1.9% fee on the terminal fee ($1.50) as well as the 1.9% on the amount he requested ($100). The traveler is out 1.9% of $101.50 plus $1.50. To give the traveler all of his money back, you must do this: ($100 + 1.50) X 1.9% + $1.50 = traveler's reimbursement or $100 + 1.50 = $101.50 X 1.9% = $1.93 + 1.50 = $3.43 ------- End of Forwarded Message