Some Iowa bank customers who use ATM cards may consider themselves lucky to live in this state.

“Iowa is one of two states where it is illegal to charge just for using an ATM machine,” said Amy Mesenbrink, assistant cashier at First National Bank, Fifth Street and Burnett Avenue. The only other state with the same law is Connecticut.

Mary Fehring, assistant to the state superintendent of banking, said due to the language of the state code, Iowa banks cannot charge simply for ATM use.

In 1992, she said, administrators of the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Act, Chapter 527 of the Iowa Code, issued a letter stating that all ATMs will be available on a non-discriminatory basis to anyone who has an ATM card.

In Iowa, banks are permitted to have a surcharge for using ATMs owned by other institutions.

Banks in other states may impose a surcharge for using an ATM, no matter who owns it.

However, some banks in Iowa do charge their customers for using ATMs, depending on the types of accounts customers use.

Angie Liman, ATM coordinator for Brenton Bank, 424 Main St., said customers can be charged for making withdrawals, depending on their account types.

“Some accounts allow for unlimited transactions, some you get four withdrawals [without charge each month], and some you’ll get eight withdrawals,” Liman said.

However, she said the bank also recently began charging customers for using machines not owned by Brenton.

“We just started charging our customers for using non-Brenton ATMs March 12,” Liman said.

Chris McGee, retail banker at Commercial Federal Bank, 525 Main St., said the bank allows five free transactions on a foreign machine each month.

After that, he said, the customer is assessed a 25 cent charge per transaction.

Mesenbrink said First National also charges its customers for using machines not owned by the bank.