Bank customers are split nearly down the middle when it comes to opting in to debit card account overdraft protection in accordance with new federal rules, according to survey data the American Bankers Association released Aug. 31.
In a telephone survey of 1,010 U.S. adults Ipsos-Reid conducted for the association Aug. 14 to 15, 46% of respondents said they have opted in to their bank’s overdraft-protection program, or they plan to do so. Another 49% said they did not opt in, and 5% said they were unsure of their decision.
Bank customers as of Aug. 15 were required to opt in to receive debit-overdraft protection on existing accounts or risk having debit transactions declined at the point of sale. Most banks’ new overdraft-coverage programs require the customer to link their debit account to a savings or credit card account. Banks were required to get new customers’ permission for overdraft protection beginning July 1.
Changes in overdraft-protection rules are the result of new Federal Reserve Board policies pertaining to Regulation E of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (
Under previous rules, issuers often automatically included overdraft protection with customers’ debit accounts, and some charged customers as much as $39 for each overdraft, sometimes resulting in multiple overdraft fees for one customer in a single day.
The Center for Responsible Lending has estimated that overdraft fees exceeded $23 billion annually.
“These results show that many bank customers value debit card overdraft protection and are willing to pay for the service,” Nessa Feddis, ABA vice president, said in a statement.
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