News & Announcements

July 28, 2010

Important information about your checking account

Avoiding overdrafts and overdraft fees
Accommodating customers when they inadvertently overdraw their accounts is a service that banks have always offered, and one that customers value.  They value avoiding the embarrassment, costs and other adverse consequences of having a check bounce or a transaction denied.

When you overdraw your account, expenses are incurred.  If a check bounces, you usually have to pay a fee to the person receiving the check as well as to the bank.  There are ways to avoid these expenses and we’d like to help you understand them.

It is important that you keep track of how much money is in your account.  While you are able to obtain a current balance through Online Banking, Telephone Banking or a visit or call to your local Hastings City Bank branch, only you know what checks or charges may be outstanding that will affect that balance.  In today’s world, electronic services allow very little, if any, “float time”.  Items coming into the bank are posted several times a day and balances can change with each posting. If you do not have the money in your account, do not write the check or make a withdrawal.

If you should have an overdraft it’s important for you to know how we pay checks, debit card and ATM transactions.

  • Hastings City Bank authorizes one time Debit Card and ATM transactions only if you have sufficient funds in your account at the time of the authorization.  If you do not have sufficient funds, your transaction will be denied.  There is no fee for a denied transaction.
  • When two or more items are presented in the same day, we are allowed to pay them in any order.  We pay them in this order:
    1. Preauthorized debits - we reserve the funds to cover that amount.
    2. Scheduled debit card or other automated payments through bill pay, auto debit, etc.
    3. Written checks.
  • Within each category, while your account has a positive balance, we pay the largest items first so your most important bills are paid first.
  • If, after clearing preauthorized debits, there is not a sufficient balance for the remaining items, they may be returned for non-sufficient funds (NSF).  You will be charged $30 for each returned item.  These items are returned to the payee.  Please note that the person receiving the returned NSF check may charge you, as well.  If it results in a late payment, late charges may apply.
  • If checks or other scheduled items cause an overdraft balance in your account, and that overdraft is not corrected in 5 business days, you will be charged an overdrawn account fee for every 5 business days your account remains overdrawn.  The overdrawn account fee is $15. These fees will not change without advance notice.  You should deposit funds to cover the overdraft and pay the fees as soon as you are charged. 
  • Pre-authorized one time Debit Card and ATM transactions will always clear your account and will not trigger an overdraft fee since we would not have authorized the transaction if you did not have the funds in your account at the time of the transaction.


How can you avoid overdraft fees?
You may ask yourself a few questions to determine if overdraft protection from your savings account or a line of credit is in your best interest:

  • Do I use my debit card frequently to make purchases because I usually don’t have enough cash or other forms of payment with me?
  • Do I get close to a zero balance in my account by the time I make a new deposit?
  • Am I often not sure of my account balance before needing to make a purchase or cash withdrawal?
  • Do I often use my debit card when I am out of town and away from a Hastings City Bank location?
  • Will I need to use my debit card in an emergency or for an unexpected purchase?  Would it be important to me that my transaction be approved regardless of my account balance?
  • I do not anticipate taking my account to a negative balance, but if that happened I would consider paying a transfer fee for the convenience of completing the transaction.
  • If I were trying to make a purchase for an amount more than what is left in my account, I would rather pay a transfer fee to avoid the embarrassment of being declined.


There are ways your Hastings City Bank representative can help you prepare for these types of events:

  • Link your savings account to your checking account.  If your checking account is overdrawn, funds will pull from your savings account and your transaction will be completed. There is no charge to set up this service.  The fee for each transfer of funds is $10, less than an overdraft fee.
  • Consider opening a Check Credit Overdraft Protection Account.  This is subject to credit approval.  It is a line of credit which will cover overdrafts. Charges for this arrangement are a $30 annual fee and a $10 transfer fee, less than repeated overdraft charges.  As with all loans, the funds must be repaid.
  • Keep a small cushion in your checking account at all times to cover possible overdrafts.  This is important if you share your account with another person and are not always aware of all transactions.
  • Set up alerts in online banking to notify you of low account balances, significant changes to the balance or direct deposits.

Speak with your Hastings City Bank representative to make arrangements for any of these services.  Our goal is to help you prepare for the unexpected and achieve financial independence.  Your business is important to us and we are here to help you.  You may call us toll free at 1-888-422-2280 or visit any one of our six branch locations in Hastings, Middleville, Caledonia, Wayland, Nashville and Bellevue.  Thank you for choosing Hastings City Bank.




 

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