Denver has the highest ATM surcharges and bounced check fees in the nation, according to Bankrate.com‘s 2011 Checking Study.

At $2.75, Denver’s average ATM surcharge is 15 percent higher than the national average of $2.40.

At $33.50, Denver’s average bounced check fee is 9 percent above the national average of $30.83.

“The fees are a reflection of the largest institutions (surveyed) and the fees they charge,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate’s senior financial analyst.

The ATM surcharge is the fee charged by banks or networks of banks to customers who are not members of the bank, according to Ted Rossman, spokesman for Bankrate Inc.

“The ATM surcharge is the fee charged by the ATM if it is not in your network,” said Rossman.

Bankrate noted that the average fee charged by one’s own financial institution for going outside the network is unchanged from last year’s $1.41.

The study said that the $2.40 national average ATM surcharge is a new high for the seventh consecutive year — up 3 percent from the $2.33 last year.

The average nonsufficient funds fee — commonly known as an overdraft or bounced check fee — set another record of $30.83, up 1 percent from $30.47 last year.

Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.