I've had bank accounts of one kind or another since I was ten (1974/
75).  Until the early '80s, deposits, withdrawals, payments, and other
common services were free.  There were sometimes charges for writing
cheques, but you didn't have to look far to find a bank or an account
that offered that service for free too.  On top of all that, customers
were not generally penalized for carrying a low balance.  And interest
rates were higher then (high single digits), so even those with meagre
balances noticed a little interest now and then.

Then, in the early/mid '80s, along came the ATMs, and everyone was
suckered into believing that...

- the ATMs were there for the convenience of the customer, not the
  bank
- maintaining two or three of these machines was more expensive than
  paying salaries for half a dozen tellers

Bullshit!

I had this discussion with a rep from the RBC -- a rep who looked me
straight in the eye and said that the ATMs were less cost efficient
than tellers and that the bank provided them Only because they were a
convenience to the customer.  I disagreed and was then asked if I'd
like to have someone call me at home to discuss it.  I said sure, gave
them my contact info, and I never heard from anyone.

But all you have to do is look at the difference between a payday
lunchtime crowd from today and one from 20 years ago.  In the early-
to-mid '80s, my lunch hour was all but completely taken up at a bank
that had at least six tellers on the go.  Today, two or three ATMs
will service the same number of people in 15 minutes or less.

As well, if tellers are so efficient, why does the RBC keep shutting
down MY branch?!  When I lived on Water Street, my branch was the
little one on Barrington near Morris -- a four- or five-teller bank
"replaced" by an ATM placed in Captain Costa's across the street.

Once I moved up here near the rotary, I used the Royal on Dutch
Village.  They all but closed out a few years ago; only the seniors'
services remain.  Bad location?... not according to the Scotiabank
beside it.  The RBC ATM at the nearby Esso on Chebucto has taken up
some of the slack.

And, like many, I made heavy use of the Royal at the Lord Nelson.
But, by now, you know the story... it's not there anymore.

There doesn't seem to be any shortage of ATMs, though.  They haven't
hesitated to increase the number of them in the Halifax Shopping
Centre, where there are three RBC locations providing a total of at
least six machines.  Oddly enough, there's a white-label machine there
too... wouldn't surprise me if RBC owned it.

You have to remember that banks -- the good ones anyway -- used to
make money by investing Your money.  They didn't have to charge you
for every transaction.  I believe that they still don't; but they'd
like you to believe otherwise.