Newsday: Commerce Bank, the upstart that introduced Sunday and late-night banking hours to New York City, said it will start reimbursing customers for ATM fees charged by other banks.
The change goes into effect on April 1. There's a small catch, though: The new policy applies only to customers who keep a minimum daily balance of $2,500 in their checking accounts.
Even so, banking experts said, the policy is a notable step.
"This is clearly aimed at their competitors that have much larger and more widespread ATM networks," said Greg McBride, senior banking analyst at personal finance Web site Bankrate.com.
The move comes amid ferocious competition for customers. The New York metro area has witnessed the relatively recent arrival of huge banks such as Washington Mutual and Wachovia, along with smaller ones like Commerce. What's more, local banks -- including Melville-based North Fork Bank -- are aggressively moving to retain customers and attract new ones.
Commerce will continue its policy of not charging its own customers when they use "foreign" ATMs.
