B of A cuts back on ATMs at malls, gas stations

The bank's automated teller network has been reduced by almost 9 percent (that's about 1,500 machines), and many of the cuts were been made in non-bank locations that don't operate 24 hours a day. B of A has been in major cost-cutting mode, with more than 100 branches being closed this year and plans to eliminate at least 30,000 jobs. From Bloomberg:

It costs banks an average of $1,700 per month to run an ATM on someone else's property, compared with $1,100 at a branch, said Tony Hayes, a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman in Boston. The difference stems from rental costs and fees for armored couriers to refill machines with cash, he said. "There are very real expenses to owning and operating ATMs, and since banks don't charge their own customers to use the machine, the costs are borne entirely by surcharges paid by non-customers," Hayes said. "In the current environment, banks are unable to support the cost structure they have historically."