Eastern Michigan Bank | September 7, 2010
What Do the New Rules Mean?
The new regulation requires all financial institutions to obtain their customer’s consent or “opt-in” to continue to provide overdraft coverage on everyday debit and ATM transactions. These transactions include every day trips to the grocery store, gas station, department stores -- even dinner from your favorite restaurant. They also include emergencies that can crop up like unexpected trips to your mechanic, doctor or pharmacy.
To continue to receive the same overdraft coverage you currently have on these types of transactions, you must contact us and opt-in by August 15, 2010. Even if you would prefer to "opt-out", please contact us and let us know your decision. The new law states that if we do not hear from you by the August 15 deadline, we must assume you do not want overdraft coverage on your everyday debit and ATM transactions. Don’t let a failure to respond make your decision for you.
What Effect Will Opting Out Have on My Overdraft Coverage?
If you currently have Bounce Protection on your checking account, you will continue to receive overdraft coverage on your checks within your Bounce Protection limit. If you use our electronic Bill Payment service, those transactions will be unaffected as well. What will be affected are those everyday transactions you currently make. If the funds are not in your account at the time of purchase, your transactions are likely to be declined.
How Do I Respond?
The new rules also require that we provide you with the disclosure at the end of this paragraph titled What You Need to Know About Overdrafts and Overdraft Fees. This is a standardized disclosure written in the language required by the regulation. After reading the disclosure, please let us know whether you would like to opt-in or opt-out by clicking here for a Contact Us form and completing the fields as prompted. When you reach the field for Info You Are Inquiring About, cut and paste either:
- I do want Eastern Michigan Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions.
or - I do not want Eastern Michigan Bank to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions.
into that field. Include the checking account number to which your debit or ATM card is tied. This is a secure email form and you can be assured that your account information is safe.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact the customer service department at our Main Office by calling 1.800.397.2504 or speak to the staff at your nearest branch.
(Disclosure)
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:
1. We have standard overdraft practices that come with your account.
2. As an alternative to our standard overdraft practices, we offer overdraft protection plans that include links to a savings account, a second checking account or an overdraft line of credit. These options may be less expensive than our standard overdraft 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 Eastern Michigan Bank pays my overdraft?
Under our standard overdraft practices:
- We will charge you a fee of up to $29 each time we pay an overdraft.
- There is no limit on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account.
|
|
