Overdraft Privilege
Help When You Need It Most
FORUM has convenient options to help members stay in control of their money. An overdraft can happen if a debit card purchase or ATM withdrawal is attempted when there is not enough money in your account to cover the withdrawal request. FORUM gives members control to choose what happens if an overdraft arises.
Easy Ways to Protect Your Accounts & Control Spending
FORUM makes it easy to manage your money with options to cover purchases if your account does not have enough money in it to cover the expense. There are options that provide no-cost ways to avoid an overdraft fee, which is charged if you have to borrow the money from FORUM (using overdraft privilege) to pay for your purchase or ATM withdrawal.
Account Transfer
If you have a savings account or other accounts with us, you can authorize us to transfer the funds needed to cover your overdraft without an additional overdraft fee. As long as you have the money to cover the expense in your savings account, your money will automatically be moved over to your checking account and no overdraft fee will be charged.
Personal Line of Credit
With FORUM’s Personal Line of Credit or $500 Ready Reserve, a line of credit is available to cover overdrafts. Ready Reserve comes with FORUM's One Checking Account for members with qualified credit. Other FORUM Personal Lines of Credit are available and may require the completion of a loan application, and approval is based on your creditworthiness. The amount of your line of credit varies based on your credit worthiness.
Overdraft Privilege
If you don’t have enough funds in other accounts to cover your withdrawal at the time of purchase, Overdraft Privilege allows debit card and ATM requests to be approved. Each time you overdraw your account, we cover your withdrawal for an additional overdraft fee. If a member elects not to authorize Overdraft Privilege these transactions may be denied.
Choose any of the options above to easily manage your purchases and stay in control of your spending. Call, chat online, or stop by any branch location to setup your FORUM checking account with any of these convenient overdraft options.
Using Overdraft Privilege
If you do not have extra money in your FORUM savings account, you can use overdraft privilege to be sure your payment, purchase, or ATM withdrawal can be processed. This should be used as a last option, as there is an overdraft fee for borrowing the money needed to pay for your purchase. If you know you do not want to authorize overdrafts, you can opt out of the service following the steps outlined below. Overdraft privilege offers:
- Convenience – May allow your debit card purchases to be approved when you have insufficient funds.
- Flexibility – May allow you to make a purchase or withdraw cash even if you can’t make a deposit or transfer money until later.
- Safety Net – May cover you if you have an unexpected expense.
- Peace of Mind – If you don’t use it, there is no cost to you.
Overdraft Honor is when FORUM covers the amount of the transaction when you do not have the funds to cover it and allows your account to go temporarily negative. An NSF is when you do not have the funds to cover the full amount of the transaction, and FORUM returns the transaction request unpaid.
FORUM offers convenient options that allow daily monitoring of your account. Our online banking service, CU Online, and mobile app let you easily check balances and transfer funds on the go. Email and text alerts keep you informed with notifications of balances, withdrawals, deposits, and more.
All financial institutions have to pay for the services provided, such as check processing and ATM network fees. There are also risks and costs associated with allowing members to take their accounts negative (borrowing funds from FORUM to pay for a transaction). As a not-for-profit financial institution, we constantly review our fees and cost of services to ensure all members equally share in the cost of the service we provide. It is important to note that less than 10% of our members utilize overdraft services and actually incur a fee.
Debit Card Point of Sale/PIN-based and ATM transactions happen at the time they occur. Signature-Based Debit Card transactions are preauthorized at the time they occur and then post to the account when the merchants send them through at a later time.
If you have any other questions related to overdraft protection, please contact us via online chat or through CU Online email.