An owner of a qualifying electronic terminal may charge a use fee if the fee is disclosed in time for the user to avoid the transaction; shared-terminal agreements cannot block that fee right or penalize the owner for charging it.
Sec. 59.202. USER FEE FOR SHARED ELECTRONIC TERMINAL. (a) The owner of an electronic terminal that is located in this state and that is connected to a shared network may impose a fee for the use of that terminal if imposition of the fee is disclosed at a time and in a manner that allows a user to avoid the transaction without incurring the transaction fee. (b) An agreement to share an electronic terminal may not: (1) limit the right of the owner of an electronic terminal to charge a fee described by Subsection (a) as allowed by the law of this state or the United States; (2) require the owner to limit or waive its rights or obligations under this section; or (3) otherwise discriminate in any manner against the owner as a result of the owner's charging of a fee authorized under this section. (c) In this section: (1) "Electronic fund transfer" means any transfer of money, other than a transaction originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal and orders, instructs, or authorizes a financial institution to debit or credit an account. The term includes a point-of-sale transfer, an unmanned teller machine transaction, and a cash dispensing machine transaction. (2) "Electronic terminal" means an electronic device, other than a telephone, through which a consumer may initiate an electronic fund transfer. The term includes a point-of-sale terminal, an unmanned teller machine, and a cash dispensing machine. (3) "Financial institution" has the meaning assigned by Section 201.101. (4) "Shared network" means an electronic information communication and processing facility used by two or more owners of electronic terminals to receive, transmit, or retransmit electronic impulses or other electronic indicia of transactions, originating at electronic terminals, to financial institutions or to other transmission facilities for the purpose of: (A) the withdrawal by a customer of money from the customer's account, including a withdrawal under a line of credit previously authorized by a financial institution for the customer; (B) the deposit of money by a customer in the customer's account with a financial institution; (C) the transfer of money by a customer between one or more accounts maintained by the customer with a financial institution, including the application of money against an indebtedness of the customer to the financial institution; or (D) a request for information by a customer concerning the balance of the customer's account with a financial institution. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1008, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 344, Sec. 2.018, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. SUBCHAPTER D. SAFETY AT UNMANNED TELLER MACHINES