NEW OVERDRAFT RULES FOR
DEBIT & ATM CARDS FOR CONSUMERS
HOW WILL THE NEW RULES
AFFECT YOU
New Federal rules give debit and ATM card users additional
options regarding overdrafts. In the coming months, banks,
credit unions, and other financial institutions must offer you
choices about overdraft services for transactions made with
your debit or ATM cards. You may be receiving a notice
from us regarding these changes and the choices available to
you. If you do not receive a notice your account will
automatically be opted out of this service. If you would
like more information on opting in for this service, please
contact your local branch or visit our website to view your
options for this service. Here are some key things you
need to consider when reading the notice:
Types of Overdraft
Services
An overdraft occurs when you make a purchase or ATM transaction
but don’t have enough money in your account to pay for
it. For a fee, overdraft services may cover you when you become
overdrawn. This fee can apply each time you overdraw your
account.
Generally, There are
Two Types of Overdraft Services:
Bounce Protection Services
At our discretion we will cover your transaction for an
overdraft fee, *currently $25, each time you overdraw your
account. For example, if you make a purchase with your
debit card for $150 but only have $100 in your account, your
account will be overdrawn by $50 and we will charge you an
overdraft fee. If you then make an ATM withdrawal for $50, your
account will be overdrawn by $100 and you will be charged
another fee. In this example, we will charge your account
a fee of $25 for each overdraft, so you will pay a total of $50
in fees.
Other Overdraft Plans
To cover a potential overdraft you may sign-up to have funds
transferred into your account from another account you have
with us such as a savings account, to cover transactions that
would normally overdraw your account. There is *currently
a $3 fee for each transfer for these
services. Alternatively, you may qualify for an Evergreen
Loan (an unsecured personal line of credit) that you can link
to cover transactions that would overdraw your
account. These protection plans may be less expensive than
the Bounce Protection services.
The New
Rules
You Choose
In the past, if you met certain criteria after 90 days of
opening your account, we enrolled you in our Bounce Protection
service for all transactions unless you had specifically
elected to not have this service. Under the new rules, you must
give us explicit permission to apply Bounce Protection services
to your debit card purchases and ATM transactions before you
can be charged overdraft fees. To grant this permission, you
need to respond to the notice and opt in (agree).
Existing Accounts
If you do not opt in (agree) and you currently have
Bounce Protection, beginning August 15, 2010 Bounce Protection
services won’t apply to your everyday debit card and ATM
transactions. These transactions typically will be declined
when you don’t have enough money in your account, but you
will not be charged overdraft fees.
New Accounts
If you open a new account on or after July 1, 2010, we cannot
charge you overdraft fees for everyday debit card and ATM
transactions unless you opt in. If you opened your account
before July 1, 2010, you are considered an existing account
holder: you will receive a notice about our overdraft services,
and you will have to decide if you want them to cover everyday
debit card and ATM transaction.
Flexibility
Whatever your decision, the new overdraft rules give you
flexibility. If you opt in, you can cancel at any
time. If you do not opt in initially, you can elect to do
so later.
Checks and Automatic Bill Payments
The new rules do not cover checks or automatic bill payments
that you may have set up for paying bills such as your
mortgage, rent, or utilities. If you do not want our
Bounce Protection services in these instances, please let us
know.
*Please contact us for current fee and account
information. For more information, please contact your New
Account Representative at your nearest branch. We will be
happy to answer all of your questions and assist you in this
process.
Printed: May 28,
2010
MEMBER FDIC
