The Federal Reserve recently amended its regulations in a way that will affect the level of service we provide to you. Starting July 1, 2010 for new customers and August 15, 2010 for existing customers, if you want your everyday (one-time) debit card and/or ATM transactions to be paid using overdraft protection, First State Bank must receive your authorization.
Our current overdraft protection program will continue to pay checks, ACH or other electronic payments presented against insufficient funds in the same way as we have in the past. However, if you want this courtesy to extend to your debit card use, you must respond NOW! This service benefits many customers who occasionally overdraw their account by helping them to avoid additional return fees imposed by merchants.
The new federal regulation requires us to obtain your consent before we extend this overdraft program to pay
1 overdrafts that may occur from ATM/debit card transactions. This authorization is referred to as "OPT IN", and we CAN NOT authorize ATM or one-time debit card transactions without it.
Take action today!
If you would like to take advantage of this new feature on your account, simply OPT IN by clicking on the "Opt-In" button at the bottom of this page, or contact our Customer Service department at 940-325-7821. If you do not Opt In by August 15, 2010, First State Bank reserves the right to decline any debit card transactions if you do not have the funds to cover them.
By opting in, you will have a safety net in place that may save you from the embarrassment and inconvenience of having a transaction declined. If we do authorize a transaction that causes your account to reach a negative status, you will incur the standard $25 fee as set forth in our Fee Schedule. There is no fee to keep overdraft protection on your account and there is no fee if you never use it.
What you need to know about overdrafts and overdraft fees:
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:
- We have standard overdrafts practices that come with your account.
- We also offer overdraft protection plans, such as a link to a savings account, which may be less expensive than our standard practices. To learn more, ask us about these plans.
This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.
What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?
We do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:
- Checks and other transactions made 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.
If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.
What fees will I be charged if First State Bank of Mineral Wells pays my overdraft?
Under our standard overdraft practices:
- We will charge you a fee up $25 each time we pay an overdraft.
- There is no limit on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account.
What if I want First State Bank of Mineral Wells to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?
If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions, you must OPT IN for this service by clicking on one of the links below.
What happens if I do not respond?
If you do not respond by August 15th, 2010, we will not be able to extend overdraft protection to include one-time debit card or ATM transactions that cause your account to have a negative balance. If there are insufficient funds in your account to cover a transaction, then the transaction will be declined.