Automatic teller machines give students an alternative

By Joelle McGinnis

Students might be prompted to use Money Network automatic teller machines in the Holmes Student Center instead of the student center’s check cashing service.

The ATMs in the student center have been connected to the nationwide Cirrus network.

Marlin Tenboer, HSC director, said he hopes students will begin to use the terminals in place of the student center’s check cashing service.

Money Network ATMs that are part of the Cirrus network are marked with a blue-swirl logo, First DeKalb Bank ATM Coordinator Kip Hayes said in a bank newsletter.

The ATMs are owned by DeKalb area banks, which have become active members in the Cirrus network.

The Cirrus network is the largest ATM network. It offers cash withdrawal access to card holders at more than 17,000 locations in nearly 4,000 cities and major airports across the United States.

Cirrus was acquired recently by MasterCard, the credit card company, and when MasterCard becomes operational the Cirrus network will become international.

Hayes said all new Money Network cards issued will have the Cirrus logo on them. But customers will have no need to get a new card if the current cards do not have the logos on them.

A $2 per-use service fee will be charged on Cirrus transactions because of the cost and complexity of cross-country transactions, he said.

This is similar to average bank charges for cashing out-of-town checks, and the charge often will be less than the cost of credit card cash advances, Hayes said.

Transactions at Money Network and Cash Station terminals are not subject to Cirrus charges because customers must sign up for use of the Cirrus network, he said.