Peoples Bank (“we, us or our”) offers standard overdraft coverage service which is a discretionary service we provide to our checking account holders who maintain their accounts in good standing. Your account is in good standing if you demonstrate responsible account management such as 1) making regular deposits to bring your account to a positive end-of-day balance, 2) there are no legal orders, levies or liens against your account, and 3) any loans that you may have with us are paid timely. Failure to bring your checking account in good standing may reduce or remove your Standard Overdraft Coverage. In an effort to provide exceptional customer service, we will consider, without obligation on our part, to pay items into overdraft (below a zero balance) for which your account has non-sufficient or unavailable funds, instead of automatically returning those items unpaid. The bank does not guarantee payment. This means we can refuse to pay any overdraft for any reason. Even if we decide to pay an overdraft item, absent an agreement to the contrary, such payment does not create any duty to pay future overdrafts. The service may be discontinued without prior notice and is not available for accounts that have a fiduciary relationship.
Transactions That May Qualify For Standard Overdraft Coverage
An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction. Transactions that may overdraw your account include: (a) Checks or transactions initiated using your checking account number, automatic bill payments, ATM and everyday debit card transactions*, or electronic funds transfers in an amount that exceeds the amount of funds available in your account; b) The return of unpaid items deposited by you which causes a negative balance in your account once your balance is reduced by the amount of the returned item; c) You have inadequate funds in your account when we assess a fee or service charge; or d) You initiate a transaction before funds deposited into your account are “available” according to our Funds Availability Policy.
Participation in standard overdraft coverage is not mandatory. You may discontinue the service any time by notifying one of our service representatives or calling (877) 802-1212 or (828) 466-1765. Simply inform us of your preference.
*The standard overdraft coverage applies to a variety of transactions, including those listed above; however, we will not include ATM and everyday debit card transactions within our standard overdraft coverage without first receiving your affirmative consent to do so. Absent your affirmative consent, ATM and everyday debit card transactions generally will not be authorized under standard overdraft coverage. You may revoke your affirmative consent to have ATM and everyday debit card transactions considered for payment under standard overdraft coverage without removing other items from the service.
Fees
For each overdraft we will charge the standard per item Non-Sufficient Funds Fee of $36.00 as set forth in our fee schedule. A fee may be imposed for items presented that overdraw the account by any of the methods mentioned above. This includes ATM and everyday debit card transactions if you have consented or opted into overdrafts for those transactions. We will notify you by mail if we pay or return any non-sufficient funds items on your account; however, we have no obligation to notify you before we pay or return any item. Regardless of the number of non-sufficient funds items, you will be charged for no more than six per day. Our de minimus amount is $3.00, meaning there is no fee for items which overdraw an account up to, but not exceeding $3.00 on any business day. The amount of any overdrafts, including our fees, are due and payable immediately and each owner of the account is responsible for repayment. Failure to bring your checking account in good standing may reduce or remove your Standard Overdraft Coverage, and at 45 consecutive days in overdraft the account will be closed.
Other Overdraft Alternatives
The bank offers other overdraft alternatives in addition to standard overdraft coverage. These include (1) Overdraft Protection Transfer – this provides an automatic transfer from another account of yours, such as a savings account. The cost for “Overdraft Protection Transfer” is $10.00 per transfer. This product may be established by speaking to a customer service representative. (2) Redi-Advantage Line of Credit – this is a loan in the form of a line of credit, thereby requiring you to submit a loan application and to meet other certain credit requirements. Once approved the loan automatically transfer funds to the checking account when the account goes below a zero balance. For more information on the “Redi-Advantage Line of Credit”, please see a loan officer.
To assist with the management of your account we offer online and mobile banking. Both services offer notification options to for you to set up alerts for balance levels or other information. We also offer telephone banking for 24 hour account balance information to assist in the management of your account. If you would like to discuss these alternatives or if you have other financial needs, please call us at the numbers above or visit one of our business centers.
For further help with your money management and financial education visit
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/overdraft/index.html or
http://www.ftc.gov/moneymatters.
