Originally Posted by
moondog
I realize this, but I have been guessing that there are similar institutions in other countries. I have had an even stronger hunch the small bank phenomenon is --more or less-- global. Speaking from my experience in the US again, in order to compete against BofA, Citi, and Wells Fargo and their massive ATM networks, regional banks (as well as online only banks) typically don't charge out of network ATM fees, and many reimburse fees charged by host ATMs.
It was reported in USA media a couple days ago that out-of-network fees are higher than they've ever been, averaging over $4 per transaction.
Some countries have cheaper alternatives to bank accounts, such as postal accounts in Germany, but they're not necessarily based on some affinity group as USA credit unions require. In the USA, we have state banks, federal savings banks, federal savings and loan associations, etc. but they are not intended to be full service commercial banks and generally cannot easily handle foreign checks or other international transactions IME.