this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2023
1585 points (98.2% liked)
Funny
6879 readers
743 users here now
General rules:
- Be kind.
- All posts must make an attempt to be funny.
- Obey the general sh.itjust.works instance rules.
- No politics or political figures. There are plenty of other politics communities to choose from.
- Don't post anything grotesque or potentially illegal. Examples include pornography, gore, animal cruelty, inappropriate jokes involving kids, etc.
Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
At most banks the ability to overdraw when you swipe your debit card is allowed on an opt-in basis. At many banks the default option is to allow the customer to overdraw with their debit card. At most banks the language around being allowed to overdraw in your account contract is intentionally confusing. You can usually change this selection online or in you bank app, but if you're confused call the help line on the back of your card. I don't advise going in to a branch, as the branch bankers are the ones with the incentive to get your money, the call centers actually don't care as much since the credit goes to the branches performance metrics.
At ALL banks certain payments will always be able to overdraw your account REGARDLESS of your opt-in/out selection. These are recurring payments for things like gym memberships or Netflix, paper checks, and many other forms of ACH payment.
An important note: this specifically affects checking/savings accounts and their DEBIT cards. CREDIT cards are different.
Source: Used to work in a bank branch and had to work my ass off every time I opened an account to ensure that people were aware of how and when they could overdraw bc banks want to steal your money and that's not cool.