News & Resources

Overdraft Protection

Savers Bank’s Platinum Overdraft Service is a courtesy overdraft service, available for checking accounts in good standing, through which we may authorize and pay overdrafts for checks and other transactions made using your checking account number and automatic bill payments. Good standing is based on your deposit and overdraft repayment history, status of loan obligations with the bank and any legal orders, levies, or liens against your account.

Savers Bank recognizes that sometimes you may overdraw your checking account. In such cases, Savers Bank may decide to honor items for which there are insufficient funds. We do so in anticipation that you will be making a deposit immediately to bring your account to a positive balance.

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction. If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined, or your check returned for insufficient funds, and your account charged $32.00. An overdraft fee will be charged for each item that overdraws your account. In no event will more than 4 paid transactions per business day be subject to the $32 overdraft fee. We have a minimum overdraft amount of $10, meaning we do not charge overdraft fees for underlying transaction amounts of less than $10.

You can elect not to participate in this courtesy overdraft service at any time. Simply contact Savers Bank at 1-800-649-3036 during business hours or visit any of our branch locations and speak to a customer service representative.

At Savers Bank, our policy is to process electronic transactions, excluding ATM transactions, first – in the order in which they are received for the day on which they are received. We process in-clearing checks second – numerically (by check number) for the day on which they are received.

The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented.

Bill payments through online banking, recurring debit card payments, checks and other transactions made using your checking account number may continue to be authorized at our discretion even if you don’t opt in for Regulation E purposes. If we authorize and pay an overdraft transaction on your behalf, a standard overdraft fee of $32 will apply.

The available balance is the amount of money in your account, minus any holds (such as outstanding debit card authorizations) and uncollected funds as a result of the bank’s funds availability policy. It does not include checks you’ve written that have not yet cleared, pending online bill pay transactions, pre-scheduled debits (e.g. life insurance premiums automatically debited from your account at a certain time each month) or recurring charges set up using your debit card number.

Your available balance does include cash deposits, direct deposits, account transfers, withdrawals and debit card purchases. You can determine your available balance at the ATM, by phone or by accessing your account online.

An outstanding debit card authorization is the amount that temporarily decreases your current balance – creating your available balance - while the bank waits for the final settlement request from the merchant, which can last several days. A final settlement request is an instruction from the merchant to the bank to deduct the exact amount of your final purchase. It follows after the debit card authorization request and completes the transaction. While the majority of transactions are settled within one business day, the actual timing rests with the merchant and is out of your bank’s control.

Keep in mind, until then, the outstanding authorization amount may be larger or smaller than your actual purchase amount. In some cases when final settlement is delayed, the outstanding authorization is released, which causes your available balance to appear larger than you might otherwise expect.

A merchant’s outstanding debit card authorization request will alter the available balance in your account. If, as a result, your available balance falls below zero at day’s end, then overdraft fees will be charged. For example, a debit card authorization may lead to overdraft fees in certain circumstances:

Customers, who spend the funds in their account, anticipating a delay between purchase and settlement, may experience an overdraft fee. This is because the outstanding debit card authorization reduces the available balance in the account even though the actual purchase has not posted yet.

In accordance with Regulation E, you must opt- in if you would like the bank to utilize its courtesy overdraft service for ATM or debit card transactions. You can make or change this preference at any time, and the decision is effective immediately once processed.

What if I don’t opt in?

Regulation E requires consumers to “Opt-in” if they want their debit card /POS transactions made at merchant locations, such as grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants, and withdrawals that are made at ATMs to be considered in a courtesy overdraft service. If you do not opt in, any of these transactions that exceed your available balance at the time of the authorization, will be declined.

In accordance with Regulation E, you must opt-in if you would like the bank to utilize its courtesy overdraft service for ATM or debit card transactions. You can make or change this preference at any time, and the decision is effective immediately once processed.

What if I don’t opt in?

Regulation E requires consumers to “Opt-in” if they want their debit card /POS transactions made at merchant locations, such as grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants, and withdrawals that are made at ATMs to be considered in a courtesy overdraft service. If you do not opt in, any of these transactions that exceed your available balance at the time of the authorization, will be declined.

How to “opt in”

If you would like to Opt-In for Regulation E purposes (utilize courtesy overdraft services for your ATM withdrawals or Debit Card transactions at point-of-sale locations):

  1. Print the form and then ​drop it off at your local ​branch location
  2. Contact Savers Bank at 1-800-649-3036 during business hours
  3. Visit any of our branch locations

No, payments are authorized at the bank’s discretion, and it is not possible to determine in advance which individual transactions might be impacted. That is why you may also want to consider an alternative overdraft protection service such as an Overdraft Line of Credit, an Overdraft Transfer Service or sign up for online banking alerts to help keep track of your balances.

Set Alerts and Notifications

Create online balance alerts when you sign up for Online Banking through Savers Bank. You can set alerts and notifications that will automatically send you an email when your balance drops below the amount you specify.

Set up text messages alerts through our mobile banking.

Questions? For more information about overdraft protection contact us at 800.649.3036