Electronic Funds Transfers

Peoples Bank ATM or Check Card, Online Banking

As a customer of Peoples Bank (“Bank”, “we”, “our” or “us”), several services are available to you which allow you, or some other person authorized by you, to electronically transfer money to or from your personal checking, NOW, Money Market, and savings accounts. Here are some important things our customer (“you” or “your”) should know about Electronic Funds Transfers.
 

TYPES OF ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS YOU MAY MAKE:

If you have a Peoples Bank ATM or check card (“Check Card”) and Personal Identification Number (“PIN”), or you have online banking and a passcode, your checking, NOW, Money Market, and/or savings accounts may be coded to allow you to use your card at any of our Peoples Bank Automated Teller Machines (“ATMs”) or use online banking any time of day to:

• Withdraw cash from your accounts
• Make deposits to your accounts
• Transfer funds between your accounts
• Obtain account balance information
• Perform Bill Payments

 

LIMITATIONS ON DOLLAR AMOUNTS OF TRANSACTIONS

ATM and Check Card Services. You may also use your ATM or Check Card to withdraw cash from your checking account, NOW Account, Money Market Account, and/or savings account at Peoples Bank ATMs or at certain other banks’ ATMs which are tied to Peoples Bank terminals through the Star, Cirrus and Maestro Networks. Other transactions may be available at such ATMs in the future. There is a limit of $610.00 per day of total cash withdrawals.

You may use your Check Card at any merchant Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal displaying the MasterCard® logo to debit your primary checking account to pay for purchases. If your Check Card is used at those merchants that accept MasterCard® cards, your checking account will be debited for the amount of your purchase. You may use your Check Card to pay for goods or services at merchants who accept MasterCard® cards in a total aggregate amount of $3,500.00 per day.

Your Check Card dollar amount limitations are further limited by the available balance in your accounts and lines of credit (if any). The available balance in the application accounts may be debited immediately or it may be reduced by the amount of any transactions from which any merchant has received authorization from us, even if the documentation evidencing the transaction has not yet been received and processed by us. (Merchants are not required to obtain authorization for all transactions.) You should treat all banking card transactions as immediate withdrawals from your account and reflect them as such in your personal records.

Online Banking. You may request to be able to access your accounts via the Peoples Bank Online Banking website. You will be able to:

• Access account balances and histories
• Transfer funds between accounts (account restrictions may apply such as with Money Market and savings accounts)
• Pay bills if you enroll in the Bill Payment services
• If you are approved for external transfers you may transfer money from Peoples Bank to your account at another bank
• Other services over the Internet

Direct Deposits and Withdrawals. You may authorize certain third parties to electronically transfer money to your account (your salary or government benefits, for example) or from your account (to pay recurring bills, for example) on a periodic basis.

Other Electronic Fund Transfers. Electronic check conversions (i.e., “E-check” transactions) and payments made under a computer or electronic bill-payment plan are electronic funds transfers. “E-checks” may be a regular paper check that the consumer supplies to a payee (such as a utility company or a gas station), who converts the check into an electronic funds transfer. This conversion is done either in the back office of the payee (for example, by a utility company) or at a point-of-sale terminal by electronically scanning and capturing the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding on the check. The back office equipment or point-of-sale terminal will capture the routing number, account number, serial number, and the amount will be entered. This information from your check becomes an electronic check, and the funds will be deducted from your account electronically.
 

CHARGES FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS

You will pay normal fees related to the services you utilize whether the transfers are initiated electronically or by written order. These fees are disclosed in the Truth in Savings Disclosure and Schedule of Fees delivered to you as a supplement of this disclosure. The fees are subject to change at the option of Peoples Bank. You will be notified of changes by Peoples Bank through delivery of a mailing prior to the changes which will set forth the new fees to be charged.

We do not charge for ATM transactions at ATMs owned by us. If you use an ATM that is not operated by us, you may be charged a fee by the operator of the machine and/or by an automated transfer network. You may be charged a fee for a balance inquiry even if you do not complete a funds transfer. These “foreign” ATM fees are to be disclosed prior to confirming the transaction. We may also charge you a fee for accessing an ATM not owned by us. Please refer to Schedule of Fees for details.
 

DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS:

Periodic Account Statements. Your electronic transfers will be described on the account statements you receive periodically. Every month you will receive account statements for your checking, NOW, and Money Market accounts. You will receive an account statement for your savings account every month during which there was an electronic transfer. Otherwise, you will receive a statement quarterly for your savings account.

Terminal Receipts. You can get a receipt any time you make a transaction to or from your account using ATMs, Point of Sale (POS) terminals, or other merchant terminals. You may not get a receipt from POS Terminals or other merchant terminals if the transaction is $25.00 or less or $50.00 or less if at a discount store, grocery store or supermarket.

Confirmation of Direct Deposits. If you have arranged to have direct deposits made to your account at least once every 60 days by the same person or company, you can determine whether any such deposit has been made by:

• Calling Customer Service at 1-877-802-1212,
• Verifying through online banking 24 hours a day 7 days a week, or
• Calling Peoples Touch at (828) 464-5030 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Please remember that Peoples Bank cannot credit your account with a deposit until we have received funds from the person, government agency, or company making the deposit.
 

UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS

A transaction is considered “unauthorized” if it is initiated by someone other than you (the account owner) without your permission and you receive no benefit from the transaction. A transaction is not considered “unauthorized” if you furnish the card, card number, PIN, Passcode or other identifying information and expressly or implicitly give that individual authority to perform one or more transactions, and the person then exceeds that authority. An electronic funds transfer would not be “unauthorized” if it was initiated with fraudulent intent by you or by any person acting in concert with you. An electronic funds transfers may not be “unauthorized” if we conclude that the facts and circumstances do not reasonably support a claim of unauthorized use.

• Contact in event of unauthorized transfer. Tell us immediately if you believe your card, PIN, or passcode has been lost or stolen or that someone has transferred or may transfer money from your account without your permission. You could lose all the money in your account (plus your maximum overdraft line of credit). Telephoning is the best way of keeping possible losses to a minimum. You may also send a secure message through online banking or write us at the address in this disclosure.
• Liability for Unauthorized Transactions appearing on a periodic statement. If your statement shows transfers that you did not make, tell us at once. If you do not tell us within sixty (60) calendar days after the statement was mailed to you, you may not get back any money you lost after the sixty (60) calendar days if we can prove that we could have stopped someone from taking the money if you had told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital stay) kept you from telling us, we may extend this time period.
• Additional limits of liability for Peoples Bank ATM or Check Cards. Unless you have engaged in fraud or illegal transactions, you will not be liable for any unauthorized transactions associated with your lost or stolen Peoples Bank ATM or Check Card. If you have transactions showing on your periodic statement that were not made or authorized by you, you must call or write us within 60 days after the statement was mailed to you.
• Consumer Liability regarding Online Banking. If you tell us within 2 business days after you learn of the loss or theft of your passcode or other access means for online banking, you can lose no more than $50.00 if someone uses them without your permission.

If you do not tell us within 2 business days after you learn of the loss or theft and we can prove we could have stopped someone from using it if you had told us, you could lose as much as $500.
 

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US

If you believe that your Peoples Bank ATM or Check Card, or online banking passcode or access information has been lost or stolen or that someone has transferred or may transfer money from your accounts without permission (including if you believe a transfer has been made using the information from your check without your permission), call us during business hours at (828) 466-1765 or 1-877-802-1212, send a secure message through online banking, or write to us at:

• Peoples Bank
  P. O. Box 467
  Newton, NC 28658-0467

To report your card lost or stolen after business hours please call 1-800-523-4175.
 

OUR BUSINESS DAYS

Our business days are Monday through Friday (not including bank holidays).
 

YOUR RIGHT TO STOP PAYMENT OF PREAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS:

Right to stop payment and procedure for doing so. If you have told us in advance to make regular payments out of your account, you can stop any of these payments. You may contact us in writing, by phone or online banking within 3 business days or more before the payment is scheduled to be made. If you call, we may also require you to put your request in writing and get it to us within 14 days after you call. Please refer to the Schedule of Fees for the amount we will charge you for each stop payment order you request.

POS Transactions. A stop payment will not be accepted on any preauthorized transactions using your Peoples Bank ATM or Check Card. Cardholder is responsible for charges.

Liability for failure to stop payment of preauthorized transfer. If you order us to stop one of these payments 3 business days or more before the transfer or payment is scheduled, and we do not do so, we will be liable for your losses or damages.

Notice of varying amounts. If these regular payments may vary in amount, the person you are going to pay will tell you 10 days before each payment when it will be made and how much it will be. (You may choose instead to get this notice only when the payment would differ by more than a certain amount from the previous payment, or when the amount would fall outside certain limits that you set.)
 

OUR LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO MAKE TRANSFERS:

If we do not complete a transfer or payment to or from your account on time in the correct amount according to our agreement with you, we will be liable for your losses or damages. However, there are some exceptions for which we will not be liable, for instance:

• If through no fault of ours, you do not have enough available money in your account to make the transfer;
• If the transfer would go over the credit limit on your overdraft line;
• If the terminal or online banking was not working properly and you knew about the breakdown when you started the transfer;
• If the ATM where you are making the transfer does not have enough cash;
• If circumstances beyond our control (such as fire or flood) prevent the transfer despite reasonable precautions that we have taken;
• If the merchant refuses to accept your MasterCard® Check Card.

There may be other exceptions stated in our agreements with you.
 

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNTS TO OTHER PARTIES:

We will disclose information to third parties about your account or the transfers you make only:

• when it is necessary for completing transfers;
• to verify the existence and condition of your accounts for a third party (such as a credit bureau or merchant);
• to comply with governmental agencies or court orders;
• for marketing purposes to offer products and services to you including marketing by our affiliates or joint marketing purposes;
• for our affiliates’ everyday business purposes; or
• if you give us written permission.

 

IN CASE OF ERRORS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS:

If you think your periodic statement or an ATM or Check Card receipt is wrong, or if you need more information about a transfer listed on your statement or receipt:

• Telephone us at (828) 466-1765 or toll-free 877-802-1212,
• Send a secure message through online banking, or
• Write us: Peoples Bank
  P. O. Box 467
  Newton, NC 28658-0467

We must hear from you no later than sixty (60) days after we send the FIRST statement on which the problem or error appeared. When you call or write us:

1. Tell us your name and account number;
2. Describe the error or transfer you are unsure about, and explain as clearly as you can why you believe it is an error or why you need more information;
3. Tell us the dollar amount of the suspected error.

If you tell us orally, we may require that you send us your complaint or question in writing, within ten (10) business days.

Unless the transfer in question involved a new account, was initiated at a Point of Sale (POS) Terminal, or was initiated outside of the United States, we will tell you the result of our investigation within ten (10) business days (five (5) business days for POS transactions) after we hear from you and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to forty-five (45) days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide to do this, we will provisionally recredit your account within ten (10) business days (five (5) business days for a POS transaction) for the amount you think is in error so that you have the use of the money during the time it takes us to complete the investigation. If we ask you to put your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive it within ten (10) business days, we may not provisionally recredit your account.

For errors involving new accounts, Point of Sale, or foreign-initiated transactions, we may take up to ninety (90) days to investigate your complaint or question. For new accounts, we may take up to twenty (20) business days to credit your account for the amount you think is in error. If we decide that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation within three (3) business days after we finish our investigation and we will charge the amount of the transaction back to your account. You may ask for copies of the documents used in our investigation.
 

OTHER TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND AGREEMENTS:

Any person who requests, signs, uses, authorizes the use of, or requests validation with regard to a Peoples Bank ATM Card or Check Card (either of which, a “Card”) becomes a Peoples Bank “Cardholder” and agrees to the following terms and conditions:

1. Normal service charges which we impose on all Checking, NOW, Money Market, and savings accounts will apply to transactions made through the use of our ATM or Check Card. Further, if any Card transaction results in an automatic advance from your Peoples Bank Redi-Advantage Account, then Cardholder may incur FINANCE CHARGES as described in the separate agreements for those additional services.
2. The Card may only be used in connection with Peoples Bank Automated Teller Machines to make withdrawals from, deposits into, or transfers between Cardholder’s checking, NOW, Money Market, or savings accounts or to obtain balance information. Transactions made through the use of a Card are subject to all of the terms and conditions, and rules and regulations contained in the Peoples Bank checking, NOW, Money Market, or savings accounts agreements and disclosure statements to Cardholders. The Card may also be used at participating ATMs as previously described.
3. The Cardholder will choose a confidential Personal Identification Number (PIN), which will enable customer to identify himself when using ATMs or point-of-sale terminals. The Card and the PIN are provided for the Cardholder’s use and protection; at all times the Cardholder and will use them and the ATM as instructed and for the purposes authorized by Peoples Bank and will not make or permit any unauthorized use thereof. CARDHOLDER AGREES NOT TO REVEAL THE PIN IN ANY MANNER TO ANY UNAUTHORIZED PERSON OR TO WRITE OR RECORD IT ON THE CARD OR IN ANY OTHER PLACE ACCESSIBLE TO ANY UNAUTHORIZED PERSON.
4. All transactions made through the use of the Card by any person other than the Cardholder shall be deemed transactions authorized by the Cardholder if such person was furnished or given access to the Card, and/or PIN by the Cardholder, or some other authorized user.
5. The Cardholder authorizes Bank to charge their Peoples Bank checking, NOW, Money Market, or savings accounts for all authorized transactions arising from the use of the Card. Cardholder agrees not to use the card (or allow it to be used) to make any withdrawal, transfer or payment from any Peoples Bank checking, NOW, Money Market, or savings accounts which results in an overdraft on said account, except when and as authorized by agreement by Bank and Cardholder. Cardholder further agrees to assume responsibility for all authorized transactions arising from the use of the Card.
6. At times when the Cardholder may not be able to access the accounts through a Peoples Bank ATM (or online banking, if applicable), withdrawals from and deposits to Cardholder’s account may be made at a Peoples Bank teller station or through Peoples Touch.
7. All withdrawals, deposits, transfers and payments resulting from the use of the Card are subject to verification and adjustment by Bank.
8. The Bank reserves the right to decline any Card transaction (“Transaction”) that the Bank, in its sole discretion, believes to be an illegal Transaction, an Internet or on-line gambling Transaction or a high-risk Transaction in the Bank’s sole discretion. You may not use your account to conduct Transactions in any country or territory, or with any individual or entity that is subject to economic sanctions administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Use of your Card in those countries will be blocked or rejected.
9. Cardholder shall immediately notify Bank if he or she suspects or discovers that the Card has been lost or stolen, or that some unauthorized person has used or is about to use the Card. Cardholder shall give complete cooperation to Peoples Bank in its attempt to recover the Card from unauthorized card users and shall assist in the prosecution of such persons.
10. You agree that the Card is the property of Peoples Bank and the Card may be revoked at any time, with or without notice. Any revoked Card must be surrendered to Peoples Bank. All Cards shall be deemed canceled effective upon termination of this Agreement (provided, however, that Bank shall have a reasonable time following receipt of such notice of termination to cancel Card privileges). You shall remain liable for all debits or other charges or expenses incurred or arising by virtue of the use of a Card prior to the termination date.
11. Bank may assess a fee to replace lost Cards.
12. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement, Peoples Bank shall not be liable to Cardholder for damages other than for the actual amount of any error arising from any mechanical failure of the Peoples Bank ATM or any participating ATM.
13. The Card may be closed/deactivated if not used within any six (6) month period.
14. Peoples Bank may terminate this Agreement at any time. The Bank may modify and change this Agreement from time to time, including, without limitation, applicable fees. Any such modification or change, other than an immediate change necessary to maintain or restore the security of the Account or any ATM Network in which the Bank participates, shall take effect not less than twenty one (21) days after notice thereof has been mailed or otherwise provided.

 

FURTHER CONDITIONS, TERMS AND AGREEMENTS FOR PEOPLES BANK CHECK CARDS:

15. When you use the Check Card to pay for goods or services at a merchant or POS transaction, you agree:
    1. That such use, whether or not you have signed any sales authorization, will constitute a simultaneous withdrawal from and/or demand from your checking account, even though the transaction may not actually be posted to that account until a later date.
    2. The merchant may be required to obtain an authorization from us for any transaction over a certain dollar amount. The available balance in your checking account will be reduced by the amount of the transaction for which the merchant has received authorization from us, even if the documentation evidencing the transaction has not yet been received and processed by us. When the documentation has cleared through us, the “hold” placed on your account for the amount of the transaction will be released and your checking account will be debited for the amount of the transaction. (You agree to release us from liability based upon failure to authorize subsequent transfers and/or failure to pay other items drawn on your checking account because of such a hold and/or the processing of a previously authorized transaction may not have been completed.)
16. Charges made in Foreign Currency. Peoples Bank uses MasterCard issued rates for foreign exchange of international transactions. Customers can refer to the MasterCard Currency Conversion website (https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html) for specific foreign exchange rates and information. In addition, your account could be charged a pass-through assessment fee for foreign transactions.
17. This Agreement and the Transactions between you and the Bank contemplated hereby shall be governed by, and shall be construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of North Carolina, except that any conflict of laws rule of that jurisdiction that may require reference to the laws of some other jurisdiction shall be disregarded. Any lawsuit brought to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall only be brought in a state court in Catawba County, North Carolina, or the nearest federal court to said County.
18. The inapplicability or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not limit or impair the operation or validity of any other provision herein.
19. The Bank reserves the right to waive the enforcement of any of the terms of this Agreement with respect to any Transaction or series of Transactions. Any such waiver will not affect the Bank’s right to enforce any of its rights with respect to other customers, or to enforce any of our rights with respect to later Transactions with you. The fact that the Bank, on any given occasion, may enforce or waive its rights does not obligate the Bank to enforce or waive similar rights in the future, nor will this be sufficient to modify the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
20. This Agreement and the Application contain the complete understanding and agreement between the parties hereto on the matters set forth herein and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or understandings on such matters.
21. The use of captions and/or headings in this Agreement is for convenience only and they are not part of this Agreement. Accordingly, they shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the provisions hereof.

Revised 6/1/2023