Overdraft Privilege is an overdraft privilege service requiring no action on your part. You do not have to sign anything. Your Overdraft Privilege limit amount will be automatically assigned according to your type of checking account.
As long as you maintain your account in "good standing" [defined as (1) making sufficient deposits and bringing your account to a positive end-of-day ledger balance at least once every 30 calendar days (including the payment of all bank fees and charges); and (2) there are no legal orders, levies, or liens against your account], St. Johns Bank may honor overdrafts up to the Overdraft Privilege limit on your account. When you use Overdraft Privilege, you must keep in mind that the bank's normal Paid into Overdraft fee for each transaction will be deducted from your limit. The Paid into Overdraft fee is deducted from your account each time an insufficient check or debit item is presented for payment from your account. As in the past, the bank will notify you by mail when an overdraft occurs. No interest will be charged on the overdraft balance.
The fee for the payment of each overdraft is $32.00.
You will receive an overdraft notice in the mail each time items are paid. You can also receive the notice electronically if you have enrolled for eStatements through Online Banking. The notice will show the check number, amount and the Paid into Overdraft fee. You should subtract the total fees from your checkbook.
Yes. If you have multiple accounts for your household or entity, you may have a limit on each eligible account.*
Overdrafts beyond your established Overdraft Privilege limit may result in a check or debit item being returned to the payee. The normal Returned NSF fee will be charged per check or debit item and assessed to your account. If we return an Item, the same Item may be presented again for payment. If the represented Item causes an Overdraft, we reserve the right to pay the Item (which may result in a Paid into Overdraft fee) or return the Item again (which may result in a Returned NSF fee). This means you may be assessed more than one fee for the same Item if the payee submits multiple requests for payment. An NSF notice will be sent by mail or electronically to notify you of our actions.
Generally, you may access your Overdraft Privilege through:
- Checks and other debits cashed at teller windows
- Online Banking
- TeleConnect
- ATM/Visa Check Card (provided you have opted in)
- ACH debit transactions
- Checks issued to a third party
- All transactions that currently are honored through your account
Regulations require us to get your permission to allow you to access your Overdraft Privilege for any one-time debits made with your ATM/Visa debit card. Unless you opt in, we will not authorize these transactions if you do not have sufficient funds. Consider the following scenarios where Overdraft Privilege would be useful:
- It's a Saturday evening and you need cash from an ATM, but your account doesn't have enough money in it.
- There are long lines at the store, and when it's your turn to pay the checker tells you that your debit card is being declined for insufficient funds.
You should make every attempt to bring your account to a positive end-of-day ledger balance as soon as possible, and must do so within 30 calendar days. If you are not able to do so, you will receive a letter from St. Johns Bank informing you of the situation and your options. If, after a period, your account has not been brought to a positive end-of-day ledger balance, we will have no option but to close your account and take other steps to recover funds.
Overdraft Privilege costs you nothing unless you use it. However, you should keep in mind that you will be charged a Paid into Overdraft fee for each item paid under Overdraft Privilege.
Yes, certain business checking accounts qualify for Overdraft Privilege.
This service may be available to our new customers after a 30-day waiting period, assuming your account is in "good standing" as defined above.
To find your Overdraft Privilege limit, locate your account type in the listing below.
- Rewards Checking - $400
- Value Checking - $400
- Premier Checking - $700
- Money Market Account - $700
- Business Checking - $1,000
- Free Business Checking - $500
- Small Business Checking - $1,000
- Business NOW - $1,000
The current balance reflected through TeleConnect will not include the Overdraft Privilege limit assigned to your account.
The assigned Overdraft Privilege limit will not be included in your current balance shown on Online Banking.
The best way to avoid overdrafts and bounced check fees is to manage your account so you don't overdraw it. However, if a mistake occurs, St. Johns Bank offers other ways to cover overdrafts in addition to Overdraft Privilege.
| Ways to Cover Overdrafts at St. Johns Bank |
Associated Fees |
|---|---|
| Good Account Management |
$0 |
| Overdraft Line of Credit |
18% APR** |
| Link to Savings Accounts |
$5 per transfer |
| Overdraft Privilege |
Paid into Overdraft fee of $32 for each item |
If you no longer wish to continue your Overdraft Privilege, you may opt out of the privilege at any time, but you are responsible for any overdrawn balances at the time of opting out. Normally, we will not approve overdrafts for you without a means for funding them. Please call one of our experienced customer service representatives at (314) 428-1059 ext. 3025 if you would like to opt out of Overdraft Privilege.
For information about credit counseling, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or their website at http://www.ftc.gov/ or contact many of the non-profit credit counseling service organizations for free credit counseling, such as Money Management International at 866-889-9347 or their website at http://www.moneymanagement.org
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS AND OVERDRAFT POLICY
Definitions
“Item” means an order, instruction, or authorization to withdraw or pay any funds from an account. Examples include a check, substitute check, remotely created check, draft, preauthorized draft, image replacement document, withdrawal slip, deposit adjustment, deposited item that was returned unpaid or any other order or instruction for payment, transfer or withdrawal of funds from your account, any photocopy or electronic image of, or presentment notice relating to, any of the foregoing, or any electronic payment transaction including online banking, wire transfer, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”), Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”), recurring debit card transactions, and one-time debit card Point-of-Sale (“POS”) transaction. “Item” also includes any document created or authorized in your name that would be a check or draft but for the fact that it has not been signed.
“Current Balance” and “Ledger Balance” means the amount of funds in your account reflecting deposits and withdrawals that have posted to your account at the end of the business day. This is shown on your account statement in the Daily Balance section. It does not reflect holds, outstanding checks, pending or memo posted transactions, or any transactions we have committed to pay, but which have not yet been deducted from your account. Your Ledger Balance only changes once at the end of each business day.
“Available Balance” means the amount of funds available for withdrawal and authorization of transactions. The Available Balance is updated throughout the day and may be different than your Ledger Balance. We calculate your Available Balance by starting with your Ledger Balance and then adding or subtracting transactions as they are received and processed throughout the day. We subtract any holds placed on your account, and we subtract any authorization requests by merchants such as debit card and ATM transactions. The Available Balance does not reflect every transaction you have initiated or previously authorized, such as outstanding checks, automatic withdrawals not yet received, and final settlement of debit card transactions.
“Insufficient Funds (NSF)” means your Available Balance is insufficient to pay the Item(s) you are attempting to withdraw from your account.
“Overdraft” means an Item that has caused the Available Balance on your account to become a negative number or an Item that further reduces your negative Available Balance.
Posting Order
This section summarizes how we generally post some common transactions to your account, but we reserve the right to change the posting order without prior notice to you. We use automated systems to process transactions, so the posting order may not be the order in which you conducted the transactions. Generally, we post the following transaction types at the end of each business day in the following order:
- Credits and deposits are posted to your account before debits.
- Online Banking debit transfers
- TeleConnect debit transfers
- Telephone transfer debits
- ATM withdrawals
- POS debits
- Safe Deposit debits
- Wire Transfer debits
- Returned Deposited Item debits
- Automatic Funds Transfer (AFT) debits
- Overdraft Protection (ODP) debits
- ACH debits
- Cashed checks
- All other checks in ascending serial number order
- In instances where multiple transactions are in the same category, transactions are posted in ascending amount order.
- Finally, transactions generated during end of day processing such as service charges, sweep transfers, Overdraft Protection advances, and Overdraft Privilege fees.
Processing Transactions
At the end of each business day after all transactions have been posted to your account, we calculate your Ledger Balance. We then calculate your Available Balance that can be used to pay your Items and to determine Overdraft status. During our end-of-day processing, if an Item causes the Available Balance to become negative or further reduces your negative Available Balance, we reserve the right to pay the Item (which may result in a Paid into Overdraft fee) or return the Item (which may result in a Returned NSF fee).
We are not obligated to pay any Item presented for payment if your account does not contain sufficient funds. If we pay an Item into an Overdraft, you may be charged our Paid into Overdraft fee of $32 for each Item paid if the Item is more than $10.00 and if the Item causes the Available Balance to become negative $10.01 or more or occurs while the Available Balance on the account is negative $10.01 or more. Please be aware that the order of payment of Items may create multiple Overdrafts during a single banking day for which you may be charged our Paid into Overdraft fee of $32 for each Overdraft paid. Also, due to the nature of POS transactions, it is possible that you could be authorized to complete a POS transaction with sufficient funds available, but when we finally receive the POS transaction other transactions have posted and eliminated the sufficient funds that were available. When this occurs, we will not charge you a Paid into Overdraft fee.
You may be charged a Returned NSF fee of $32 for each Item returned if the Item is more than $10.00 and if your Available Balance at the end of the business day is negative $10.01 or more. If we return an Item, the same Item may be presented again for payment. If the represented Item causes an Overdraft, we reserve the right to pay the Item (which may result in a Paid into Overdraft fee) or return the Item again (which may result in a Returned NSF fee). This means you may be assessed more than one fee for the same Item if the payee submits multiple requests for payment.
If you do not participate in Overdraft Privilege but your account is in Overdraft status, you will be charged a Continuous Negative Balance fee of $5.00 per business day beginning on the 5th consecutive business day your account remains in Overdraft status. This fee will continue until your account returns to a positive end-of-day Ledger Balance.
There is a daily limit of four (4) combined Paid into Overdraft and Returned NSF fees. You will be notified by mail or through Online Banking of any NSF Items paid or returned that you may have; however, we have no obligation to notify you before we pay or return any Item.
ATM and Everyday Debit Card Standard Overdraft Coverage
For consumer accounts, unless you have notified us that you want us to authorize and pay Overdrafts on your ATM and everyday debit card transactions, we generally do not authorize and pay ATM and everyday debit card transactions if the transaction causes your Available Balance to become negative or further reduces your negative Available Balance.
Rights and Responsibilities
It is your responsibility to know if there are sufficient funds in your account before you initiate or authorize a transaction from your account. We may refuse to pay an Overdraft at any time, even though we may have previously paid Overdrafts for you. As always, we encourage you to keep track of your Ledger Balance by entering Items in your check register, reconcile your check book regularly, and manage your finances responsibly. The amount of any Overdraft and fees that you owe us shall be due and payable upon demand, but if no demand is made, no later than 30 calendar days after the creation of the Overdraft. You must also reimburse us for all costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent permitted by applicable law) that we incur in attempting to recover any Overdraft and fees from you. If there is an Overdraft on an account with more than one (1) owner on the signature card, each owner and agent, if applicable, shall be jointly and severally liable for all Overdrafts inclusive of fees, costs and expenses regardless of which owner issued, initiated, authorized, or benefitted from the proceeds of the Item. You agree that subsequent deposits and other credits to the account may be used to satisfy an Overdraft or any indebtedness due to us, regardless of the source of such deposits including, without limitation, deposits comprised of government, welfare, retirement or social security benefits.
Overdraft Protection Services
In addition to our Standard Overdraft Policy outlined above, we offer the following Overdraft Protection options that you may consider requesting. If more than one of these Overdraft Protection options is selected, they are generally provided in the following order:
- Automatic Funds Transfer (AFT): You may establish a link between two accounts to automatically transfer funds from one account to another to cover an Overdraft. There is a $5 fee for each transfer.
- Overdraft Protection Line of Credit (ODP): You may apply for an ODP to automatically advance against the ODP to cover an Overdraft. Interest accrues on the outstanding ODP balance. Offer is subject to credit approval. Ask a Personal Banker for more information.
- Overdraft Privilege: A non-contractual service we provide eligible accounts to cover Overdrafts. See Overdraft Privilege Service below.
Overdraft Privilege Service
Overdraft Privilege is a non-contractual courtesy that is available to individually/jointly owned accounts and commercial entities in good standing. St. Johns Bank reserves the right to limit participation to one account per household or entity and to discontinue this service without prior notice.
We are not obligated to pay any Item presented for payment if your account does not contain sufficient funds. However, if you maintain your account in good standing, we may approve your Overdrafts within your current available Overdraft Privilege limit as a non-contractual courtesy. Your account is in good standing if (1) you make sufficient deposits and bring your account to a positive end-of-day Ledger Balance at least once every 30 calendar days (including the payment of all bank fees and charges); and (2) there are no legal orders, levies or liens against your account.
To avoid exceeding your limit, please note that the amount of each Overdraft plus the bank’s Paid into Overdraft fee of $32 (per Item) will be deducted from the Overdraft Privilege limit. See Processing Transactions above for information regarding returns, fees and limitations.
For consumer accounts, unless you have notified us that you want us to authorize and pay Overdrafts on your ATM and everyday debit card transactions, we generally do not authorize and pay ATM and everyday debit card transactions if the transaction causes your Available Balance to become negative or further reduces your negative Available Balance.
We may refuse to pay an Overdraft at any time, even though we may have previously paid Overdrafts for you. For example, we typically do not pay Overdrafts if your account is not in good standing as defined above.
You may opt out of the privilege at any time, but you are responsible for any Overdraft balances at the time of opting out. Overdraft Privilege should not be viewed as an encouragement to overdraw your account. As always, we encourage you to keep track of your Ledger Balance by entering Items in your check register, reconcile your check book regularly, and manage your finances responsibly. If you would like to have this service removed from your account, please call (314) 428-1059, Ext. 3025.
Please note that your Overdraft Privilege limit may be available for covering Overdrafts created through checks that you write, a withdrawal through a teller, ATM/Visa (provided you have opted-in), TeleConnect or Online Banking. The limit will not be included in your Current Balance.