Second-tier lenders Suncorp-Metway Ltd (ASX:SUN) and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX:BEN) have received regulatory approval to not charge each other's cardholders a fee for transactions at ATMs they own.

Reforms introduced by the Reserve Bank of Australia in conjunction with the banking industry in March 2009 saw ATM operators charging customers directly for withdrawals in banks other than the one who issued the card. Most lenders do not charge their own cardholders for withdrawals.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the arrangement between Suncorp-Metway and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank gives customers with smaller ATM footprints access to a greater number of ATMs without incurring fees.

"The ACCC considers the agreement between Suncorp and Bendigo Bank not to charge each other's cardholders for ATM transactions will be pro-competitive, assisting to ensure that they are not at a competitive disadvantage to institutions with larger ATM networks," according to the competition watchdog.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Bank's Head of Access and Payment Systems, Greg Devlin, said the bank was steadily making more ATMs available to its customers, with the network doubling to more than 1100 machines in just the past two years.