What You Need to Know about Overdrafts and Overdraft Fees

Every bank’s policies and fees differ when it comes to overdrafts. An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

1. Standard overdraft policies that come with your account.
2. Overdraft Protection Plans, such as a link to a savings account, which may provide savings over our standard overdraft fees.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

We authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

  • Checks
  • Transactions using your checking account number
  • Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

  • ATM transactions
  • Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

We require that you give us permission in order for us to provide overdraft protection for ATM or everyday debit card transactions. We offer this as a convenience and to provide a safety net to our customers

What fees will I be charged if Seacoast Bank pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

  • For each overdraft item, you will be charged a fee of $35.00.
  • If you are a consumer, the maximum number of overdraft fees and returned items fees you will be charged each calendar day is five.
  • For consumers, overdraft charges will be automatically waived if the account is overdrawn $5.00 or less or if the transaction causing the overdraft is $5.00 or less.
  • Business accounts do not have a daily limit on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account.
  • For business accounts overdrawn for 4 or more consecutive days, we will charge an additional $5.00 per day. For debit card transactions, the date overdrawn is based on the date the transaction was authorized, which may be different from the date the transaction posted.

How can I avoid overdraft fees?

  • Keep careful records & practice good account management.
  • Enroll in Online Banking and establish alerts.
  • Add overdraft protection by linking an account, such as savings, to cover negative balances.

 

What happens if I don't have enough money in my account?

When there is not enough money in your account to pay for everything that requires payment, we follow these standard payment orders:

    1. Our policy is to group transactions into categories at the end of each business day and post all transactions within a category before we post any transactions assigned to the next category.
    2. We pay items within a category primarily by timestamp order, and if that's not available then by dollar amount or serial number low to high.
    3. We process over-the-counter checks, withdrawals, wires, transfers, and other bank initiated transactions first; then debit card and ATM transactions; then Bill Pay, ACH, and preauthorized withdrawals; then checks; then fees.
    4. If a check, item or transaction - other than an ATM or everyday debit card transaction - is presented without sufficient funds in your account to pay it, we may, at our discretion, pay the item (creating an overdraft) or return the item for insufficient funds (NSF).
    5. A per-item fee may be imposed for overdrafts and NSF created by checks, in-person withdrawals, ATM withdrawals, Point of Sale (POS) or by other electronic means.

To learn more about our Overdraft Protection Policy, visit your local branch or call our local Florida Customer Support Center at 800.706.9991.