Regulation E (Reg E) is a rule prescribed by the Federal Reserve’s Electronic Fund Transfer Act. This act establishes the basic rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of consumers and financial institutions.

Reg E was modified to address concerns raised by consumers and policymakers as well as to bring consistency and clarity to overdraft programs. The modified rule affects debit card transactions, specifically ATM transactions and everyday debit card purchases (sometimes called POS or point-of-sale transactions). The rule provides that consumer customers (those customers with a personal account) must expressly agree, that is, “opt-in,” before our bank may charge a fee for paying an ATM or everyday debit card purchase that will cause an overdraft on the account.

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Only consumer (personal) accounts are subject to Reg E, so business accounts are not subject to any changes. Checks, ACH, and recurring debit card transactions or bill payments are not impacted by the new Reg E rule. Additionally, fees related to AccountLink and Overdraft Protection Line of Credit are not impacted by the modified rule.

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1. AccountLink: Linking a secondary checking, savings, or money market account to cover overdraft items.
2. Overdraft Protection Line of Credit: Linking a line of credit to cover overdraft items (subject to credit approval)
3. Overdraft Courtesy
4. Overdraft Courtesy Plus

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Everyday debit card purchases are those one-time purchases that you make using your debit card. For example, when you swipe your debit card at the grocery store or pharmacy, it would be considered an everyday debit card purchase. These purchases are sometimes referred to as POS or point-of-sale transactions. Everyday debit card purchases do not include recurring debit card transactions that are often associated with bill payments.

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Yes. With Overdraft Courtesy Plus, the bank can authorize and pay ATM and everyday debit card purchases that cannot be covered solely by the balance in your checking account. Additionally, our other Overdraft Protection services – AccountLink or Overdraft Protection Line of Credit – are your first line of protection, but should the balance in your linked deposit account or line of credit be exhausted, you will have Overdraft Courtesy Plus in place to provide a secondary safety net.

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No. At our discretion, we may authorize the payment of items that could result in an overdraft to your account. Our decision to pay an item is based on a number of account characteristics including number of days open, balances maintained, and overdraft history.

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Provided below are some suggestions on how to potentially avoid overdraft situations:

• Use direct deposit for your paycheck. Your company’s payroll department can help you enroll for direct deposit.
• Use all of the tools the bank offers to keep track of your account balances. You can access your account balances through ATMs, online, telephone, and mobile banking. Keep in mind that your balance may not include all pending payments or deposits.
• Keep a cushion of money in your checking account, just to be safe.
• Enroll in an Overdraft Protection product that: a) can transfer funds from a related savings account (AccountLink), or b) accesses an overdraft line of credit (ODP-Line of Credit (subject to credit approval)). These services are available to both business and personal checking customers.
• You have the ability to set up e-mail account alerts in Online Banking to receive a notification when your account balance falls below a set minimum that you select.

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• Unpaid overdrafts are a liability for the bank. The bank loses money when it must charge off an account due to a negative balance.
• The bank expends time and effort processing nonsufficient fund and overdraft items. The fee is meant to be both a deterrent and a way to help the bank recover its costs.
• To help pay for the measures the bank must take to provide customers the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are covered if an item overdraws their account.

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