How Can I Avoid Overdraft Fees?

Like many banks, Farmers State offers Overdraft Protection to our qualified customers.  Although most customers are very responsible and careful, everyone makes mistakes, and Overdraft Protection ensures that if you do inadvertently overdraw your account, your transactions, up to a certain limit, will not be rejected or returned. 

If a debit is presented to the bank and you don’t have funds available to pay it, you are charged a fee of $25 per item, whether the debit is paid or returned.  There are a couple of reasons for this charge: 1) the potential loss associated with a negative balance on a checking account; 2) the additional handling required on rejected items; and 3) in order to discourage overdrafts.

Qualified customers, of course, have a choice about whether or not they want to allow checks and/or Debit Card transactions to overdraw their accounts.  If you don’t want to allow checks and/or Debit card transactions to overdraw your account, you can choose to Opt Out of our Overdraft Protection Program.

There are some simple ways that you can avoid overdrafts, and the fees associated with them - here are a few tips:

§          Keep a register on your account and reconcile it often.

§          When you write a check or use your ATM/Debit card, record the transaction in your register immediately.

§          Don’t forget about the ACH deductions that you have set up on your accounts - utility bills, loan payments, insurance premiums, etc.  Make sure that you’re recording them in your register.

§          Don’t forget about service charges and/or check order fees on your accounts, if any.

§          Don’t rely on “float”, which refers to the time between when you write the check and the when it clears the bank.  Nowadays, most checks clear within a day or two, if not immediately.  Most ATM/Debit card transactions are deducted from your account instantly.

§          Try not to allow your account balance to get too low, if possible - this will help you to avoid an overdraft caused by a debit you forgot to account for.

Farmers State Bank offers some free tools that will help you to avoid overdrafts, including:

§          Free Internet Banking.

§          Free Teller Anytime service, which provides an up-to-the-minute current balance and allows instant transfers between accounts.

§          Night Depository, which allows you to drop your deposits off when the bank is closed.  Deposits are credited early the next business day.

§          Free Cash Management, which allows automatic transfers between your accounts at FSB. 

We’re here to assist you - if you have questions, please speak with one of our employees.