What to do about an overdraft charge, how to avoid the next one, and how to compare account policies, with fees from published schedules.
One payment, three outcomes. You have $40 in checking and a $60 bill arrives.
Paid, and a fee may apply.
Illustrative amountsIllustrative amounts, not any institution's prices. With $40 in checking, a $60 payment is taken from your account. Your bank can pay it or send it back. If it pays, the balance goes to minus $20 before any fee, and a $35 overdraft fee may apply. Check which transactions your overdraft choice covers.
If your bank pays a payment you cannot cover, an overdraft fee may apply.
Checks, ACH payments such as online bill pay, and recurring debit card payments are outside that rule. Whatever you chose for your card, your institution may pay these and charge an overdraft fee, or return them and charge an NSF fee, as its policy allows.
Across the 2,605 banks and credit unions with a published schedule on file, the median overdraft fee is $30.00. The middle half of institutions publish $25.00 to $33.00. The fee is usually flat: overdrawing by $3 or by $300 costs the same.
| Fee | Institutions |
|---|---|
| $0 to under $5 | 16 |
| $5 to under $10 | 26 |
| $10 to under $15 | 92 |
| $15 to under $20 | 70 |
| $20 to under $25 | 159 |
| $25 to under $30 | 684 |
| $30 to under $35 | 1015 |
| $35 to under $40 | 519 |
| $40 and up | 24 |
16 institutions list a $0 overdraft fee on their published schedule. That can mean a no-fee service, no overdraft service, or $0 on one account only. A $0 fee is not a promise to pay.
The arithmetic below uses one illustrative account so its terms fit together. The national median overdraft fee is $30.00.
Illustrative account, not any institution’s terms: $35.00 per fee, at most 3 fees a day, $10.00 if the balance stays negative, $12.00 per savings transfer.
One overdraft, repaid the next day
1 fee $35.00
$35.00
Four payments overdraw on the same day
3 fees $105.00. The daily limit stops the rest.
$105.00
One overdraft, still negative a week later
1 fee $35.00 + extended charge $10.00
Some accounts repeat the extended charge.
$45.00
A linked savings transfer covers it
1 transfer $12.00
Only when the savings account holds enough.
$12.00
Now use your own account's terms from its fee schedule:
Leave blank if there is no limit
That day costs
$105.00
3 fees charged; the limit stops 1 more.
Starting values are illustrative. Enter your own account’s terms.
What the daily limit figure covers. 90 institutions publish a daily limit in dollars. They apply it 40 to overdraft fees only, 17 to NSF fees only, 26 to both combined, 7 without saying which. A limit stated as a number of fees per day is not in this figure.
Check these features before you open or keep an account. Where Fee Insight does not track a feature, the guide says so. A missing answer is not the same as no protection.
Compare up to three institutions, line by line: the account each line names, its conditions, the source and the date it was read. Not charging a fee is not a promise to pay.
Or start with
Credit unions follow the same statement requirement under the NCUA's Truth in Savings rule, Part 707. 12 CFR 707.11
Large-institution overdraft rule
NSF fees on instantly declined payments
Consent for debit card overdraft fees
Complaints consumers sent to the CFPB about institutions in the Bank Fee Index. Context, not a ranking.
Counts cover institutions in the Bank Fee Index, as of 2026-10-30. The latest year is partial. Complaints are not a representative sample and are not verified findings; a larger institution draws more of them. Each record in the database shows the institution’s response. CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
To dispute a fee, ask your institution first, then the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
Optional: follow this fee
Get an email when your bank updates this fee
Free account. Save your institution and Fee Insight emails you when its published overdraft is updated.
Create a free account