Starting Sept. 1, PNC will be one of the first large U.S. banks to allow many of its customers free access to any ATM in the world -- and it openly doubts whether competitors will do the same.

"I don't think all banks will be able to match our offer," said PNC Financial Services Group President Joseph Guyaux.

So far, PNC's two big Pittsburgh-area rivals are sticking with the ATM surcharge strategy that exposes many customers to fees if they want cash fast and have to take money from a competitor's machine -- a situation that often occurs while traveling far from Pennsylvania or overseas.

National City, No. 2 in the Pittsburgh market with 17 percent of all deposits, charges customers $1.50 for use of another bank's automated teller machine. However, the fees charged by National City are waived if customers join an "elite" checking program that charges a monthly maintenance fee of $15 as long as the balance stays below $10,000.

National City Bank of Pennsylvania spokesman William Eiler said the bank is "actively evaluating" an ATM rebate program similar to the one PNC announced yesterday but there are no definitive plans to roll one out.

"Not yet," said Mr. Eiler.

Citizens Bank, which became No. 3 in the market after acquiring Mellon Financial's retail banking operations in 2001, currently charges customers $2 to use another bank's ATM, although it will waive that fee if customers have a "circle" checking account and maintain a balance above $5,000. Citizens spokesman Mike Jones would not say whether an elimination of money-machine surcharges was under consideration, saying only that "we routinely review our products and make regular adjustments to meet the evolving needs of our customers."

PNC, No. 1 in the Pittsburgh area with almost 30 percent of all deposits, is putting a condition on its free-ATM offer: Customers with average monthly balances below $2,500 still will have to pay PNC's surcharge of $1 to $2, depending on the market. For everyone else, PNC will rebate not only the amount it charges to use another bank's ATM but also a second set of fees often charged by the banks that own the machines (currently $1.50 to $2.50, depending on the market).

Nationally, the average amount paid by customers to use another bank's ATM is $2.88, according to Bankrate.com. Banking customers are expected to shell out $4.2 billion this year in the extra fees, and the trend points upward: 98 percent of banks that own ATMs now charge fees to nonaccount holders, up from 89 percent two years ago.

Customers "put up" with the fees but "they don't like paying for their money," said Mr. Guyaux, PNC's president.

PNC's announcement follows similar programs from TD Banknorth Inc., which did away with ATM fees this summer in parts of the Northeast, and Commerce Bank, which did the same last year for customers with a minimum daily balance of $2,500.

PNC did not disclose the exact amount of ATM fees it collects annually, but it did say it would lose "millions of dollars" as a result of the change on Sept. 1. The trade-off, hopefully, is increased market share in highly competitive areas such as northern New Jersey, where PNC has some branches. PNC began an experimental free-ATM program in Washington, D.C., last year after acquiring Riggs Bank.

More and more banks, said Punk, Ziegel & Co. banking analyst Richard Bove, are using discounts to attract consumers and "these things tend to work," he said. "People tend to be extra price sensitive when dealing with banks. ... I would assume this would have a nice positive effect for [PNC]."

Mr. Guyaux claims that no banks of PNC's size have "taken this bold a step." Asked, though, whether low-income customers or students on a shoestring budget might not be able to take advantage of the program, since customer balances below $2,500 do not qualify for the discounts, Mr. Guyaux argued that PNC has ATM stations on local campuses -- two at the University of Pittsburgh and one at Duquesne University, for example -- that allow students to take out cash for free and that low-income customers tend to open up accounts in their local neighborhoods and use the ATMs there.

"Quite frankly," Mr. Guyaux said, "the people who pay the higher ATM fees are people who keep more money with us ... they can afford it; they just don't like it."