NEWS ARTICLE
February 22, 2012
The New York Times, The Confusion Over Your Bank's Overdraft Policies
Although banks are now required to have customers actively "opt in" to receive overdraft coverage of debit card purchases and A.T.M. withdrawals, many consumers are unsure whether they have agreed to such coverage, according to a new report from an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Ninety percent of Americans have a checking account, making it the most widely used financial-services product. But many accountholders are confused about how bank overdraft policies work, the report found.
Bank overdraft practices are increasingly under scrutiny, both from federal regulators and from class-action lawsuits. The median overdraft fee — charged when the bank makes a short-term advance to a customer account to cover the transaction — is $35. But some banks add extra fees if the accountholder does not deposit money to cover the overdraft within a certain period of time.
Read the full article on the New York Times website.
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