Overdraft Fee FAQ's

Overdraft means the Available Balance in your account does not have enough money to cover a transaction at the time it is presented to us for authorization or payment, but we authorize or pay it anyway.

A returned or rejected item means the Available Balance in your account does not have enough money to cover a transaction at the time it is presented to us for authorization or payment, and we do not authorize or pay it. These items are rejected or returned to the third party presenter or merchant as unpaid.

Our Fee Schedule/Sheet sets forth the fee names, descriptions, any applicable abbreviations, and amounts we charge for our services.

The chart below explains when you will be charged a fee for transactions when your account has insufficient funds.
 

Decision	For Transaction Types	Fee Status (if and when fee is charged)
Paid Transaction	Check, ACH, Point of Sale (POS) Recurring Transactions	Overdraft Fee charged for each item paid if your Available Balance is insufficient to pay the item at the time your transaction is presented.
Rejected Transaction	Check, ACH	No fee charged for each time an item is presented and returned unpaid if your Available Balance is insufficient to pay the item at the time your transaction is presented.
	ATM withdrawals and POS Everyday Transaction	No Overdraft Fee charged
Rejected, (or under limited circumstances, we pay a transaction)	POS Everyday Transactions	No Overdraft Fee charged
Overdraft Protection (linked savings or credit line to cover overdrafts)	Overdraft Protection transfers are available for all transaction types, except ATM withdrawals.	No Overdraft Fee charged - The amount of funds available in the linked account(s) will automatically transfer to the checking account at the end of our daily processing cycle to cover the amounts that would have otherwise overdrawn the account. - Transfers from your credit line account are also subject to finance charges as described in your loan agreement. If funds are not available in the linked account(s) to cover any of the overdrawn transactions, then those transactions will be subject to an overdraft fee, as applicable and as explained in previous sections above.

We understand inadvertent overdrafts may occur on your account on a temporary basis in the event of error. First Tech offers two services to assist with paying transactions in the event your account has insufficient funds: Overdraft Protection and Discretionary Overdraft.

The best way to avoid overdrafts and returned payments and any associated fees is to always make sure you have enough funds available in your account to cover all transactions you authorize for payment. You can always contact us by calling 855.855.8805 or visiting one of our branches if you have any questions. In addition, the following tips offer options to assist you: 

Check your balances through a variety of options we offer including online, mobile, and telephone access.

• Activate the option we offer in online banking to receive low balance email or mobile alerts.
• Make transfers into your account from funds you may have at other institutions.
• Apply for Overdraft Protection service to transfer funds from a linked Share Savings account or an existing Line of Credit to your checking account to cover overdrafts which may cost less and have lower fees.

Overdraft Protection is a service whereby upon your request, we link your existing share savings account(s), credit lines, or credit cards to your checking account(s). If you apply and are approved for a Line of Credit account (LOC), at your request, we will link the LOC to your checking account as well. These links enable funds to be automatically transferred from one or more of the linked accounts to your checking account in case of an overdraft.

See our Fee Schedule/Sheet for any applicable Overdraft Transfer fees.

Overdraft Protection transfer fees (if applicable) are generally less expensive than the cost of Discretionary Overdraft fees, and we will always try to use Overdraft Protection, so long as you have enough funds available in your line of credit or enough money in your savings account to cover an overdraft before we use Discretionary Overdraft.

Overdraft Protection transfers from credit line products may be subject to additional charges, such as annual fees, and interest will accrue on the amounts advanced. Please refer to the line of credit or credit card Truth in Savings disclosures for full details.

Overdraft transfers from credit lines will be made to the nearest $0.01 and transfers from a savings account will be made in $100.00 increments. If you do not have $100 available to transfer, transfers will be made up to the amount available necessary to cover the overdraft item(s). If the overdraft protection source accounts do not have enough funds available to cover the full amount of the transaction(s), then you may still receive overdraft fees.

Funds are automatically transferred at the end of our daily processing cycle to cover purchases, prevent returned checks, and declined transactions if you have insufficient funds in your checking account. For more information about transaction and balance processing, see Balances and Transactions Overview section of this FAQ below.

Savings, Lines of Credit, or Credit Card Accounts. Lines of credit and credit cards are subject to eligibility requirements and normal credit approval.

Common account ownership between the checking account and the account source linked for Overdraft Protection is required.

Yes, savings accounts, Lines of Credit, or Credit Card Accounts can be used as overdraft protection sources for more than one checking account.

Yes, if you have multiple source accounts linked to your checking, we will utilize funds in the order you have designated from each source account as necessary and where available to cover an overdraft item.

If you have multiple account sources for Overdraft Protection, you may request or change the order that they are used at any time.

You can check or change your Overdraft Protection enrollment and preferences at any time. You may do so by visiting your local branch, by calling us at 855.855.8805, or by accessing the Overdraft Services feature in Digital Banking.

Discretionary Overdraft refers to a service we provide, once your account is 60 days old, where we may, in our sole discretion, pay certain types of transactions you initiate, even if it causes an overdraft in your account (you don’t have enough money in your Available Balance at the time the transaction is presented for authorization or posting). We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions: 1) ATM transactions or 2) Point of Sale Everyday Transactions. Account(s) with a primary account holder under 18 years of age are not eligible to participate in the Discretionary Overdraft Program. An Item covered under our Discretionary Overdraft service will incur an Overdraft fee. See Fee Schedule/Sheet for details on costs associated with this service.

When determining if we will pay overdraft transactions on your account under this service, we consider your ability to repay the overdraft. This may include factors such as size of the transaction, if you are making regular deposits sufficient to cover transactions, and the number of past overdraft occurrences. The fact that we may honor withdrawal requests that overdraw the account does not obligate us to do so later. In addition, if we elect to pay an item resulting in an overdraft, you have no right to defer payment and you must deposit additional funds into your account promptly in an amount sufficient to cover the overdraft and any related fees. In all cases, whether or not we pay your transaction resulting in an overdraft is discretionary and we reserve the right to not pay

Will consider for Discretionary Overdraft after Checking Account is 60 days old

Checks and other payments using your account number (e.g., ACH transactions).

POS Recurring Transactions using your debit card (e.g., a monthly gym membership).

NOT considered for Discretionary Overdraft; rejected at time of request or returned to presenter unpaid .

We will reject Point of Sale (POS) Everyday Transactions and ATM withdrawals. (Note: under limited circumstances, we may sometimes approve paying a transaction, but will not assess a fee.)

If you contact us to request we not pay any type of transaction through our Stop Payment process, we will reject or return items presented unpaid where possible. See Stop Payment section of the Membership and Account Agreement for additional details.

You can request to opt-out of Discretionary Overdraft for most transactions. However, you will remain responsible for any overdrawn balances at the time of opt out. To opt out after account opening, call us at 855.855.8805, access the Overdraft Services feature in Digital Banking, or visit a branch to make your request. Opting out of Discretionary Overdraft may mean that overdraft transactions are returned or rejected, and you may incur third-party merchant fees as a result.

Available Balance is the amount of money in your account available to you for immediate use. The Available Balance may differ from the Current Balance because it takes into account amounts we deducted for pending debit transactions we have not yet posted to your account, such as debit card transactions that have been authorized by us and holds related to debit card transactions. It also takes into account any holds on deposits. Pending debits and other holds (e.g., authorized transactions, uncollected funds, unavailable funds, etc.) will reduce the amount of funds in your Available Balance. The Funds Availability Policy disclosed in the Membership and Account Agreement includes additional information about when a hold may be placed on your deposits.

Current Balance is the amount of money in your account, including credit for the full amount of all deposits posted without regard to any portion of the deposit that may be on hold. Current Balance only reflects transactions that have posted to your account, but not transactions that have been authorized and are pending, or other payments such as checks you have written but not yet presented to us for payment. While these balance terms may sound as though the amount represents an up-to-date display of what is in your account that you can spend, that is not always the case. Any checks you have written, purchases, holds, fees, other charges, or deposits made on your account that have not yet posted will not appear in your Current Balance.

Your checking account Current and Available Balances can be checked online, at an ATM, by phone, or in the branch with one of our representatives.