Tips to Limit (or Completely Avoid) Overdraft Fees
Savings, checking, and other accounts are important tools that impact your overall financial wellness. To improve confidence around healthy account practices, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of overdraft fees.
We may charge overdraft fees when there is not enough money in your account to cover your transactions. Overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees (NSF) at AltaOne are $17 per transaction—and this can add up if you are not careful. Nationwide, the average overdraft/NSF fee is $35 per transaction.
Consider these tips to manage or reduce the chance of overdraft fees:
Know the Terms
We are required under Federal law to disclose any fees we charge in connection with a deposit account. View AltaOne’s fees and disclosures..
Track Account Balances
Get in the habit of regularly monitoring account balances, which helps you avoid overdraft fees and NSF fees. Consider signing up for low-balance alerts through Online & Mobile Banking.
Link to a Savings Account
Linking a checking account to a savings account can help reduce the chance of overdraft fees. If your checking account is overdrawn, money is automatically withdrawn from the linked savings account to cover the transaction if there are sufficient funds in the savings account.
Opt-Out of Overdraft Coverage
It’s possible to reduce stress by opting out of overdraft coverage. At AltaOne, overdraft coverage is called ‘Courtesy Pay.’ Without overdraft coverage, your ATM/Debit card will be declined if you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a debit or ATM withdrawal. When the transaction is not able to be completed, you won’t incur an overdraft fee. But if you write a check or initiate an automatic payment using your account number and do not have funds available, you will be charged an NSF fee.
Make a Plan
Many people find it useful to build a spending plan for your money. A simple spending plan makes it more likely that you will have enough money for what you need and the things important to you. Following the plan will also help you avoid a situation causing you financial stress, such as overdraft fees.
Need help making a plan? Our partner GreenPath Financial Wellness can help! They offer free budgeting assistance, financial literacy tools, and credit counseling, which can help get you on the right track to financial freedom.
GreenPath Financial Wellness
(877) 337-3399
www.GreenPath.com/Alta-One
