Overdraft Fees: Compare What Banks Charge
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An overdraft fee is often one of the most expensive fees from a financial institution, but not all charge the same amount. And some don’t even have an overdraft fee. Some banks also offer small buffer amounts — such as $5 — that customers can overdraft without incurring a fee. Some offer larger buffer amounts and grace periods as well.
Institutions with low or no overdraft fees
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» MORE: Best banks for overdrafts
What is an overdraft fee?
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When a transaction drops your checking account balance below zero, a financial institution will choose to reject the transaction or approve it and provide the funds to cover the transaction. You may be charged fees in either case. The charge for a rejected transaction or check is known as a nonsufficient funds fee, while the charge for an approved transaction is called an overdraft fee. Some providers charge multiple nonsufficient funds or overdraft fees per day if you make many transactions with a negative balance, meaning you could owe hundreds of dollars in penalties.
You can read our explainer on how to avoid overdraft fees. As a rule, it’s best to opt out of overdraft coverage for ATM or one-time debit card transactions if you think you will have issues with overdrafts. When you opt out, the negative debit or ATM transaction will be declined and you won’t be charged a fee.
If not paying your overdraft fees has gotten you placed into ChexSystems, you may want to look into opening a second chance checking account. These accounts are designed to help consumers qualify for a new checking account even with marks on their banking record.
» Need a fresh start? Look at second chance checking accounts across the U.S.
Overdraft protection
Outside of the financial institutions without overdraft coverage fees, you can generally find a cheaper option with overdraft protection transfers.
These are opt-in programs that link a second account to your checking account. An overdraft would trigger a transfer from the second account to cover the transaction. The linked account can be a savings account, credit card, line of credit or even another checking account, depending on the provider’s policy. The cost of this transfer is around $10 or $12, although it can be cheaper. Sometimes the service is free.
Overdraft fees by institution
Financial institution | Overdraft coverage fee (per item) | Max fees per day | Total possible cost in a day (excludes extended overdraft fees) |
---|---|---|---|
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees; you have 14 business days to bring your balance back to positive to avoid your account being limited. | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$32 (No overdraft fees if account is overdrawn by $50 or less, or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 2. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $64. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$10 for each overdraft over $1. | 2. | $20. | |
$15 (No overdraft fees if account is overdrawn by $50 or less, or $0 transfer fee per day from linked account). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $45. | |
$10 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 5. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $50. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$34 (No overdraft fees if account is overdrawn by $50 or less at end of day, or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $102. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$34 (or $10 transfer fee per day from linked account). | 4. | $10 (transfers from linked account) to $136. | |
$35 (or $0 transfer fee per day from linked account). | 5. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $175. | |
Comerica | Up to $34 (or $0 transfer fee per day from linked account). | 2. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $68. |
$4 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 2. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $8. | |
$30 (or $10 transfer fee from linked account). | 4. | $10 (transfers from linked account) to $120. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$37 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $111. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$15 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account, plus options for personal lines of credit and ability to overdraft up to $50 without a fee). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $45. | |
$20 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). Also, if your account is overdrawn for five consecutive business days, an additional $20 fee will be assessed. | 5. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $100. | |
$15 (or $0 for a transfer from a linked savings account or $8 per day from linked credit card or overdraft line of credit). | 1. | $0 to $8 (transfers from linked account, credit card or line of credit) to $15. | |
$20 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 1. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $20. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$36 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 4. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $144. | |
$36 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 5. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $180. | |
$15 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $45. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$35 (or $0 transfer fee per day from linked account, ability to overdraft up to $50 without a fee and a one-day grace period to bring account to $0 or above). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $105. | |
No overdraft fees (optional $0 transfer fee — otherwise transaction will be declined if the customer doesn’t have enough funds). | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees (or $0 transfer fee from linked account as well as the ability to overdraft up to $100 with no fees when qualifications are met). | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees (transaction will be declined if customer doesn’t have enough funds). | N/A. | N/A. | |
No overdraft fees for Safe Debit account. $36 for U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account (or $0 transfer fee from linked account and the ability to overdraft up to $50 without a fee). | 4 for U.S. Bank Smartly Checking. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $144. | |
No overdraft fees. | N/A. | N/A. | |
$35 (or $0 transfer fee from linked account). | 3. | $0 (transfers from linked account) to $105. |
» Learn more: Read about banking mistakes to avoid
Glossary of overdraft terms
ChexSystems. ChexSystems tracks and provides reports on consumer deposit accounts. Someone might be reported to ChexSystems if they’ve failed to repay an overdraft fee, which means that other banks might not let that person open an account until that negative mark falls off their record after five years.
Continuous negative balance fee. If a customer doesn’t bring their bank account back to a positive balance after overdrafting, their bank might charge a continuous negative balance fee until the customer funds their account.
Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fee. A bank will charge a nonsufficient funds fee if a transaction is attempted that can’t be covered by the funds in an account. NSF fees are also known as bounced check fees.
Overdraft. An overdraft occurs when a bank customer makes a transaction for a higher amount of money than the available balance in their account.
Overdraft coverage. Overdraft coverage can take different forms, including overdraft protection transfers and overdraft lines of credit. Customers are allowed by law to opt out of overdraft coverage by contacting their bank and making the request, and then their bank will simply decline any transaction that would result in an overdraft.
Overdraft fee. When bank customers overdraft, their bank might charge a fee — with some ranging from $30 to $35 — to discourage overdraft activity. Sometimes a bank might charge this fee multiple times per day if a customer keeps making transactions that overdraft their account.
Overdraft line of credit. An overdraft line of credit is similar to a credit card in that it’s a set amount of money that a customer can borrow from if they overdraft their account. Like a credit card, there's typically a high-interest charge for using an overdraft line of credit, and that interest rate is usually dependent on your credit score.
Overdraft protection transfer. Some banks allow customers to link another account to their checking account. That way, if they make a transaction that would result in an overdraft, the difference would be taken from their linked account instead.
Overdraft protection transfer fee. Some banks charge a fee for allowing customers to transfer funds from a linked account to cover a transaction that would overdraft their primary account.
Prepaid debit card. Prepaid debit cards allow people to load a debit card with a set amount of money, which can help prevent overdrafts because any transaction beyond the available card funds will be declined.
Second chance checking account. Second chance checking accounts are designed to help people who have been blocked from opening a traditional bank account because of flawed banking history, such as having unpaid overdraft fees and being put in ChexSystems. These accounts allow people to rebuild their banking history until the negative marks fall off their records.
How to get overdraft fees waived
If you’re charged an overdraft fee, here are some ways you may be able to get it waived:
If you don’t have a history of negative transactions, contact your financial institution's customer service department and ask whether they will waive it.
Ask about forgiveness policies. Some institutions have once-a-year fee forgiveness programs for customers in good standing.
Ask about "rewind" programs. If you have an electronic deposit scheduled for your account that would have covered the overdrawn transaction, some providers will consider waiving the fee if the deposit arrives soon enough, usually by the next morning.
Overdraft fees, especially from overdraft coverage, are some of the steepest fees that financial institutions charge. Knowing these fees might help you decide whether to opt out of the programs or find cheaper overdraft alternatives from your provider.
» Want to learn more? Read NerdWallet's explainer on overdraft fees
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