What You Need to Know about White Rose’s Overdraft Fees

How do overdraft fees work? What are the White Rose Credit Union overdraft fees? We’re answering all of our frequently-asked questions about overdraft fees here. Get your information now so that you can make the right decision for your credit union account.

How do overdraft fees work?

An overdraft is when you attempt a transaction that would exceed your account balance. Instead of declining the transaction, your financial institution instead lets the payment go through. You are then expected to not only bring your account balance back up to a positive number, but also pay a fee for the service.

For example, if you have $50 in your checking account, and one of your recurring debit card payments tries to deduct $60 from your account, a couple of events could happen.

Number one, if you’ve opted out of every overdraft service, the payment will be declined.

Number two, if you have an overdraft transfer set up, your financial institution will pull the needed payment amount from another predetermined account. They will then charge you a small fee for the transfer.

Number three, if you don’t have a transfer service set up or the other account also has insufficient funds, the financial institution can cover the cost of the payment. You will then need to deposit the courtesy payment amount and an additional fee for the service to bring your account up to a positive balance.

Here are the standard transactions covered by overdraft privilege services:

• Checks
• ACH – Automatic debits
• Recurring debit card payments
• Online bill pay items
• Internet banking transfers
• Teller window transactions

Fee breakdown & comparison

White Rose Credit Union overdraft fees (per transaction):

• Overdraft privilege/courtesy pay: $33.00
• Automatic overdraft transfer: $2.00

Other financial institution overdraft fees (per transaction):

• Members 1^st courtesy pay: $37.00 (Source)
• M&T courtesy pay: $38.50 (Source)
• Santander overdraft transfer fee: $12.00 (Source)

See our entire fee list here.

Important items to remember if using these services

1. 1. You can incur multiple fees in one day.

If multiple items overdraw your account on the same day, each item will be assessed the appropriate fee. This means that two separate payments will both be charged the overdraft fee.

2. 2. The order items are posted will affect which fees are charged.

We generally post items in the following order: 1) credits, 2) ATM and debit card transactions (in the order received), 3) ACH debits (low to high by dollar amount, 4) checks (low to high by dollar amount); however, exceptions will occur. Holds on funds and the order in which transactions are posted may impact the total number of fees assessed.

3. 3. ATM withdrawals and every day debit card purchases are considered extended coverage.

Your consent is required on consumer accounts for these payment categories. Giving us your consent on your consumer account to pay every day debit card and ATM overdrafts may result in you incurring Overdraft Fees for transactions that we would otherwise be required to pay without assessing an Overdraft Fee. However, this would allow us to authorize transactions up to the amount of your Overdraft Privilege limit and may also help you avoid overdrafts in excess of your available funds that could result in restriction of your debit card.

4. 4. If you have deposited funds still on hold, they don’t count towards a sufficient balance.

White Rose Credit Union authorizes and pays transactions using the available balance in your account. The available balance is comprised of the ledger balance (collected funds) less any debit card holds, and does not include any deposited funds on hold. White Rose Credit Union may place a hold on deposited funds in accordance with our Deposit Account Agreement and Disclosure. If the funds in the available balance are not sufficient to cover a transaction, the amount of the Overdraft Privilege limit may be used to authorize and pay a transaction.

5. 5. The service has limits.

Overdraft Privilege has limits of up to $500 typically. The limit increases to $750 for eligible Personal Checking accounts open at least 35 days in good standing with direct deposit, and $750 for eligible Business Checking accounts open at least 60 days in good standing. This means the payment will only go through if it is below the maximum limit. Also, if you incur overdrafts that are above the available funds in your account – we may restrict your debit card use.

6. 6. Do not make it a habit to rely on the overdraft service.

Overdraft Privilege is not a line of credit; it is a service that can be withdrawn at any time without prior notice. For example, the service can be withdrawn if you default on a loan, if your account becomes subject to any legal order, or if you fail to bring your account to a positive balance within 32 days for a minimum of one business day.

Tips for avoiding overdraft fees

Follow these best practices to avoid being charged overdraft fees.

• Practice good account management. Use our mobile banking and online banking services to keep track of your balance on a regular basis.
• Opt out of any overdraft service. If you opt out, the payment will be declined rather than going through and charging you an extra fee. You will not be able to make another payment until your account has sufficient funds.
• An automatic overdraft transfer is a less expensive option than the overdraft privilege. If you can’t avoid it, at least set up the overdraft transfer rather than continually using the overdraft privilege. You can set up the overdraft to come from one of your other checking or savings accounts rather than from the credit union itself. When the credit union performs that transfer to cover the payment, you’re only charged $2 versus $35.

Still have questions?

Talk to a member service representative by calling 1-888-755-9773. Or reach out to us through our online contact form!

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