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) instead of automatically returning those items unpaid when your account has insufficient, inadequate or unavailable funds. Non-Sufficient Fund fees assessed may reduce the Standard Overdraft Coverage available to pay subsequent items presented for payment against insufficient funds. 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.
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, electronic funds transfers or recurring debit card transactions, ATM and everyday debit card transactions* for amounts that exceed the available balance in your account; b) The return of unpaid items deposited by you once your balance is reduced by the amount of the returned item; c) The resubmission of transactions made by you that were previously returned unpaid; d) There are inadequate funds in your account to pay an item after we have assessed a fee or service charge; or e) A transaction is initiated before deposited items are made "available" for withdrawal 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 authorize payment of overdrafts for ATM and everyday debit card transactions under standard overdraft coverage without removing payment of overdrafts for other items that qualify under the service.
For each overdraft we will charge the standard per item Non-Sufficient Funds Fee (NSF) 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 we have received your affirmative consent or opt-in for payment of overdrafts for these transaction types. Additionally, resubmission of transactions made by you that were previously returned unpaid, are subject to assessing multiple NSF fees if presented more than once against insufficient funds. We will notify you by mail if we pay or return a transaction presented against insufficient funds; however, we have no obligation to notify you before we pay or return any item. Regardless of the number of items presented against insufficient funds per day, you will be charged no more than four NSF fees per business day. Our de minimus amount is $5.00, meaning a fee is not charged for items that overdraw an account no more than $5.00 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 60 consecutive days in overdraft the account will be closed.
We offer other methods to cover overdrafts. These include (1) Overdraft Protection Transfer - Link an eligible checking or savings account to transfer the money necessary to bring your balance to zero each time a transaction is presented against insufficient funds. Accounts are considered eligible if held by the same ownership. 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 transfers 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 https://www.fdic.gov/consumer-resource-center/2021-12/overdraft-and-account-fees or https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/choosing-credit-counselor (links are provided as a courtesy, content not endorsed or guaranteed.)
11/01/2022
