Overdraft Protection Policy
Overdraft Protection
An insufficient balance can result from several events, such as (1) the payment of checks, electronic funds transfers or other withdrawal requests; (2) payments authorized by you; (3) the return of unpaid items deposited by you; (4) credit union service charges; or (5) the deposit of items which, according to the credit union’s Funds Availability Policy, are treated as not yet available or finally paid. We are not obligated to pay any item presented for payment if your account does not contain sufficient funds.
As long as you maintain your account in “good standing,” we may approve your overdraft items within your current available overdraft protection limit as a non-contractual courtesy. For overdraft privilege consideration, your
account is in “good standing” if you (1) make sufficient deposits to bring your account to a positive end-of-day balance at least once every 30 calendar days (including the payment of all credit union fees and charges);
(2) avoid excessive overdrafts suggesting the use of Overdraft Guardian as a continuing line of credit; (3) have no legal orders, levies or liens against your account; and (4) have no loans delinquent more than 15 days.
In the normal course of business, we generally pay electronic transactions first and then checks in serial number order (check number), per the credit union’s policy. We reserve the right to change the order of payment without notice to you if we suspect fraud or possible illegal activity affecting your account. Also, please be aware that the order of item payment may create multiple overdraft items during a single banking day, and which you will be charged our Overdraft Guardian Fee of $25 for each overdraft item paid.
You may opt out of the privilege at any time, but you are responsible for any overdrawn balances at the time of opting out. Normally, we will not approve an overdraft for you in excess of the predetermined amount assigned to your account type. So as not to exceed your limit, please note that the amount of the overdraft plus the credit union’s Overdraft Guardian Fee of $25 per item will be deducted from the overdraft limit.
We may refuse to pay an overdraft item at any time even though we may have previously paid overdrafts for you. For example, we typically do not pay overdraft items if your account is not in good standing as defined above, or
if, based upon our review of your account management, we determine that you are using Overdraft Guardian excessively or seem to be using Overdraft Guardian as a regular line of credit. You will be charged an NSF Fee of $25 for each item returned.
You will be promptly notified of any non-sufficient funds items paid or returned that you may have; however, we have no obligation to notify you before we pay or return any item. The amount of any overdraft, including our Overdraft Guardian Fee of $25 and/or an NSF Fee of $25, that you owe us shall be due and payable upon demand, but if no demand is made, no later than 30 calendar days after the creation of the overdraft. If there is an overdraft on an account with more than one owner on the signature card, each owner and agent, if applicable, shall be jointly and severally liable for all overdrafts, inclusive of fees.
Overdraft Guardian should not be viewed as an encouragement to overdraw your account. To avoid fees, we encourage you to keep track of your account balance by entering all items in your check register, reconcile your check book regularly, and manage your finances responsibly. If you would like to have this service removed from your account, please call 1-866-
321-HOPE (4673).
Please note that your Overdraft Guardian coverage may be available for each overdraft item caused by checks and other transactions made using your checking account number, such as a teller withdrawal, an automatic payment (ACH) transaction, an automatic bill payment or a recurring debit card payment, up to the limit of your coverage. Also, at your request, we may authorize and pay ATM transfers or withdrawals and everyday debit card purchases using your limit. The limit will not be included in the balance provided during an inquiry. LIMITATIONS: Overdraft Guardian is a non-contractual courtesy that is available to individually/jointly owned accounts in good standing for personal or household use. Hope Credit Union reserves the right to limit participation to one account per household and to suspend, revoke or discontinue this service without prior notice. Unless we advise you differently or you request this service be removed from your account, your limit will be made available to cover overdrafts again after you bring your account to a positive end-of-day balance.