You need cash and you’re in a hurry. You dash up to some other bank’s ATM machine and get the cash — and a $3 fee on top of it.

Here’s where Cardtronics, a Houston-based owner of ATM machines and services, comes in. Immediately after the transaction is processed, an SMS arrives on your smartphone that looks like the one at left here.

The message, which FIs can customize, reads, “ATM FeeAlert: Stop Giving Money Away! You just paid an ATM fee. Next time, use one of these Surcharge-FREE ATMs” and then a link.

FeeAlert was released in early October and uses geo-location to alert users to the location of nearby ATMs from their financial institutions — in other words, fee-free ATM machines. Cardtronics operates the Allpoint Networks, which it calls “America’s largest surcharge-free ATM network,” with more than 50,000 machines and 1200 participating FIs.

Nick Pappathopoulos, PR director for Cardtronics, told Bank Innovation, “FeeAlert puts your bank in a white hat. When your bank sends you a positive message and saves you money, everyone wins.”

Saving money on fees is a win for customers, and referring customers to native ATM machines is a win for the FI, both in terms of savings on interchange fees paid out, and building brand loyalty by helping customers. Offers can be attached to the messages customers receive as well. Cardtronics’ system is subscription-based and fees vary based on deployment customization options.

ATM fees are on the rise, and hey, three bucks is three bucks.