From Cynthia Scott of OMC Financial Services:
Starting August 15 all debit cards have new rules – don’t get caught by them.
**If you use your debit card, you will have to opt in or out of an overdraft agreement with your bank
**No longer will banks automatically authorized a transaction when there are insufficient funds to cover it
**Three type of overdraft protection may be offered by your financial institution
>>Overdraft privileges – fees could range as high at $34 per transaction, plus an addition $5 per day; the account must be made positive within 10 business days
>>Overdraft protection – a $10 transfer fee charged that allows a transfer from another account to the overdrawn account
>>Extended overdraft protection – a extra fee of between $30 to $40 dollars for having an overdrawn account once it is covered
**Some transactions are ineligible for the opt in overdraft protection
>>Recurring debit card transactions
>>Automatic bill payments
>>Check payments
>>Online banking bill payments or transactions
**Be aware that even if you opt into one of the overdraft arrangements banks are not obligated to honor the transaction
**You are automatically assigned the opt out status if you haven’t notified your bank otherwise
**Safeguard yourself by using a credit card rather than a debit card if you are unsure of your balance
**Carry cash
**Sign up for bank alerts for low balances or negative balance
(NOTE: Cynthia Scott will be discussing this topic again next week, Monday, August 23)
