Bank of america overdraft fees waived phone number

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co and Bank of America (BAC.N) will no longer charge customers for bouncing checks and are adopting new policies to limit overdraft-related fees, the latest lenders to overhaul such charges amid growing regulatory scrutiny.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, said earlier on Tuesday it will reduce the fee it charges customers who overdraft accounts to $10 from $35 starting in May.

Both banks said they will stop charging customers a $35 non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee for bouncing checks or making other automated payments, and will eliminate the roughly $12 fees previously levied when customers used overdraft protection services.

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Such fees have drawn the ire of U.S. lawmakers and the scrutiny of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The watchdog said last month it was exploring new guidance aimed at curbing banks' reliance on overdraft and NSF fees, which have ballooned, generating an estimated $69 billion for banks in the third quarter of 2021 compared with $15 billion for the whole of 2019.

Bank of America has been in discussions with the CFPB regarding the new policy, which it received "in a positive fashion," said Holly O'Neill, the bank's president of retail banking, in an interview.

Wells Fargo's Consumer and Small Business Banking CEO Mary Mack said in an interview the bank had taken its actions after studying customer spending data.

In addition to waiving certain fees, Wells will give customers who overdraw their accounts 24 hours to bring the balance above $0 before charging them a $35 fee, and it will begin giving customers who receive direct deposits access to those funds up to two days earlier than current practice.

These changes follow similar moves made late last year when Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) said it was eliminating all overdraft and NSF fees, and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) said it would give customers more leeway on overdrafts before charging fees.

Unlike some lenders, Bank of America decided not to eliminate overdrafts entirely or cut fees to zero.

"Eliminating overdraft altogether is not really what clients want," O'Neill said, citing the bank's conversations with community advisory groups.

O'Neill expects more banks to offer access to overdraft with a minimal fee. "If you take the fee to zero, it is going to be very hard for banks to allow clients even that occasional access," she said.

Bank of America does not break out revenue from overdraft and related fees, but estimated on Tuesday that they made up 1% of revenue in 2021.

The changes, coupled with others over the past 12 years, including stopping debit card overdraft charges at point of sale and offering low-cost, short-term loan coverage, have reduced overdraft fee revenue by 97% from 2009, it added.

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Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall; editing by Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang and Karishma Singh

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Take action to get Overdraft Paid Fees waived.

If your Bank Smartly™ Checking account’s Available Balance at the end of the business day is overdrawn by $50 or less, you will not be charged an overdraft fee that day.

If your account is overdrawn by $50.01 or more and you were charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s), Overdraft Fee Forgiven1 gives you time to take action2 to have the fee(s) waived. Fund your account with qualifying deposits1, 3 to cover the overdraft by 11 p.m. ET the business day you were charged the Overdraft Paid Fee(s). Your deposit does not need to cover the fee(s) charged.4

Stay informed.

There are several ways.

Set up your alert preferences for Overdraft Fee Forgiven and we’ll send you email, text5 or push notification(s).

Download the latest version of the U.S. Bank Mobile App or log in to your online account. The Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen will display the minimum amount of funds1,3 you need to deposit and the deadline to deposit those funds.

Contact 24-Hour Banking at 800-USBANKS (872-2657) or a local branch for this information if you’re not an online or mobile app customer. We accept relay calls.

Monitor your account.

Once you’ve funded your Bank Smartly™ checking account, you’ll be in a review pending state. Monitor your balance frequently for any new transactions that come through6 and make sure your balance is at least $01,3 at 11 p.m. ET.

If you have met the requirements, you’ll see the waiver before the start of business the following morning. You’ll get a notification via email and on the Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen.

Bank Smartly™ with U.S. Bank.

Manage your cash flow easily with automated budgeting. Move money safely with Zelle®.7 Save and spend wisely with the help of our Insights and Goals tools.

These are just some of the many tools available to you via the mobile app. When you Bank Smartly™ with U.S. Bank, you can tap into a broad array of programs, tools and resources that work together to put you – and keep you – on the road to financial wellness.

Frequently asked questions

Log in to your checking account via the U.S. Bank Mobile App or Online Banking. If you have an account(s) within an active Overdraft Fee Forgiven period, you will see a notification which will direct you to the Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen. The screen provides key information, including the minimum amount of funds you must deposit and the deadline to deposit those funds. You can also contact 24-Hour Banking at 800-USBANKS (872-2657) or your local branch. We accept relay calls.

Note: Make sure to have the most up-to-date version of our mobile app to see the Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen.

Qualifying deposits generally include ACH and electronic deposits, cash deposits, wire transfers, ATM deposits at U.S. Bank ATMs, check deposits in branch and internal transfers from another U.S. Bank account.

Deposits that generally will not qualify include mobile check deposit, extended hold placed on a deposit and deposits into new accounts opened less than 30 days where funds are generally made available the fifth business day after the day of your deposit. Refer to the Determining the Availability of a Deposit – All Accounts section of Your Deposit Account Agreement for full funds availability details.

There are several ways:

• Set up alerts. Provide a valid email address as a part of your profile information to receive an email alert in the early morning on the day the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period starts. You can also set up your mobile phone to receive an alert by text message5 or push notification. The alert will include a link that will take you to your customer dashboard. From there, you can access the Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen.
  
• Monitor your account frequently via the U.S. Bank Mobile App or Online Banking. If you have an account(s) within an active Overdraft Fee Forgiven period, you will see a notification after you log in to your checking account. The notification will direct you to the Overdraft Fee Forgiven screen.
  
• Contact 24-Hour Banking at 800-USBANKS (872-2657) or visit your local branch. We accept relay calls.

Overdraft Fee Forgiven alerts are sent via email, text message5 and push notification.

Via email

To receive alerts via email, provide a valid email address in your profile information. No enrollment is needed to receive the first email alert. You can sign up to receive additional reminder email alerts.

Via text5

To receive alerts via text message5, you must log in to the U.S. Bank Mobile App or Online Banking to enable the account to receive the text messages.5

• U.S. Bank Mobile App: Select the checking account and go to Account options. From the Manage notifications menu, select Overdraft Fee Forgiven.
• U.S. Bank Online Banking: Select the checking account. From the Manage account menu, select Set up account alerts and then Add alerts next to the checking account of your choice. Then select Transaction Alerts to expand the dropdown menu. Go to Overdraft Fee Forgiven and select Add.
  

Via push notification

To receive alerts via push notification, download the latest version of the U.S. Bank Mobile App and turn on push notifications via the setting on your mobile device. From the main menu, select Notifications then choose Insights & Updates. Use the toggle switch next to Allow push notifications for all accounts to turn them on. 

Note: The first alert email, text message5 and push notification are sent in the early morning on the day the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period starts. If you wish to receive additional reminder emails and text messages5 during the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period, log in to your account via the U.S. Bank Mobile App or Online Banking and manage the Overdraft Fee Forgiven alerts from there.

The Overdraft Fee Forgiven period starts the first day the Available Balance becomes negative and the account was charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s). Please note: If you were not charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s), the period will not start.

For example, on Wednesday the Available Balance is $10. A $100 transaction posts on Wednesday, making the Available Balance negative $90. On Thursday, a $36 Overdraft Paid Fee was charged and the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period started. The Overdraft Paid Fee will be waived if a deposit of $90 or more is made by 11 p.m. ET on Thursday. 

Please note: All transactions that occur on the weekend will be considered Monday’s business day transactions, and the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period would start on Tuesday when the Overdraft Paid Fee is charged.

If you have set up an Overdraft Protection Plan and your checking account becomes overdrawn, Overdraft Protection funds will be accessed before the checking account is eligible for Overdraft Fee Forgiven. Overdraft Fee Forgiven does not stop the advance transfer, nordoes it waive the Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee(s). Learn more about Overdraft Protection and see your Consumer Pricing Information (PDF) disclosure for pricing information.

If the funds in the linked eligible accounts are depleted, the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period will start the first day the Available Balance of the checking account becomes negative $50.01 or more, and the account was charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s). If you have met the criteria before the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period ends, we will waive the Overdraft Paid Fee(s) charged.

Overdraft Fee Forgiven does not waive the Extended Overdraft Fee. If the Available Balance remains negative $50.01 or more for eight consecutive days, a $36 Extended Overdraft Fee will be charged on that day or the next business day, as applicable.

Yes. If you have met the criteria before the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period ends, the charged Overdraft Paid Fee(s) will be systematically waived. In the transaction history and monthly statement, you will see the dollar amount of the Overdraft Paid Fee(s) waived as a result of Overdraft Fee Forgiven. This is indicated by the transaction description “Overdraft Paid Fee Waived – Forgiven”.

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Disclosures

1. U.S. Bank consumer checking accounts (excluding Safe Debit accounts) are eligible to have Overdraft Paid Fee(s) waived with qualifying deposits. The Overdraft Fee Forgiven period starts the first day the Available Balance becomes negative and you were charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s). U.S. Bank will review your account for a fee waiver at 11 p.m. ET on the business day we charge the Overdraft Paid Fee(s).  If your Available Balance (excluding the Overdraft Paid Fees and including immediate and same day deposits), is $0 or more we will waive Overdraft Paid Fee(s) charged.

2. The Overdraft Fee Forgiven period starts the first day the Available Balance becomes negative and the account was charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s). It ends at 11 p.m. ET on the day the account was charged an Overdraft Paid Fee(s). If that day is a federal holiday or weekend, then the period ends at 11 p.m. ET the next business day.

3. Deposits that generally will qualify for Overdraft Fee Forgiven include: ACH and electronic deposits, cash deposits, wire transfers, ATM deposits at U.S. Bank ATM, check deposits in branch and internal transfers from another U.S. Bank account. Deposits that generally will not qualify for Overdraft Fee Forgiven include: Mobile check deposit, extended hold placed on a deposit and deposits into new accounts opened less than 30 days where funds are generally made available the fifth business day after the day of your deposit. Refer to the Determining the Availability of a Deposit – All Accounts section of Your Deposit Account Agreement for full funds availability details.

4. Overdraft Paid Fee(s) will be charged to the account during the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period. To bring the Available Balance to $0 or more, the deposit amount does not need to include the Overdraft Paid Fee(s) charged to the account. The Overdraft Paid Fee(s) may still be reflected in the Available Balance until after the account is reviewed at 11 p.m. ET. 

5. For text alerts, standard messaging charges apply through your mobile carrier and message frequency depends on account settings. Please be advised that these alerts may not be sent immediately.

6. Review your account frequently during the Overdraft Fee Forgiven period as any additional transactions that further overdraw your account will need to be covered by your deposit.

7. U.S. checking or savings account is required to use Zelle®. Transactions between enrolled consumers typically occur in minutes and generally do not incur transaction fees.

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Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.

Deposit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC.

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