Overdraft Options

What is Overdraft Privilege?

As a benefit of your relationship with us, Overdraft Privilege is offered on your checking account. With Overdraft Privilege, if you inadvertently overdraw your account, we have the option to cover your overdrafts, including fee(s) and thereby saving you the embarrassment and inconvenience of a returned or declined item, as well as the fee normally charged to you by merchants for items returned to them.

The amount of the Overdraft Privilege is not shown in your available balance, but may be available to you for ATM cash withdrawals, checks, telephone, and Internet Banking, ACH transactions, and when you use your debit card for purchases at retail merchants.

How does Overdraft Privilege work?

As long as you maintain your account in good standing (defined as making regular deposits, and bringing your account to a positive balance, including payment of all bank fees charged to your account, at least once every 30 days), Metairie Bank may honor overdrafts up to the Overdraft Privilege limit on your account. Whether your overdraft will be paid is discretionary and we reserve the right not to pay. For example, we typically do not pay overdrafts if your account is not in good standing or you are not making regular deposits, or have too many overdrafts. To ensure you don’t exceed your limit if you use Overdraft Privilege, please note that the amount of the overdraft plus our standard overdraft fees* for each item will be deducted from your overdraft limit. No interest will be charged on the overdraft balance.

Standard Overdraft Fees:

• We will charge you a fee of up to $32 each time we pay an overdraft.
• If your account is overdrawn for 7 or more consecutive days, we will charge an additional $5.00 per business day. A business day is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays.
• There is a limit of $160 on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account per day for Personal Accounts. There is no limit for Business Accounts.
• There is a $10 de minimis for overdrafts fees. For items under $5, a $15 Overdraft fee will be charged.

*Please refer to the MBT DISCRETIONARY OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGE POLICY

How do I know when I use the overdraft limit?

You will receive an overdraft notice in the mail each time items are paid. The notice will show the check number, amount, and the OD fee. You will need to subtract the total fees when balancing your checkbook.

What is my Overdraft Privilege limit? I have two checking accounts. Can I get Overdraft Privilege on both?

Locate your account type below and make note of the corresponding limit. If you have multiple accounts for your household, you may have a limit on all eligible accounts.

Account Type	Limit at Account Opening	Limit at 30 Days in Good Standing	Limit at 90 Days in Good Standing	Limit at 180 Days in Good Standing
Business Accounts	$100	$1,000
Personal Accounts	$100	$300	$500	$700

What if I go beyond my Overdraft Privilege limit?

Overdrafts above and beyond your Overdraft limit may mean that a check or checks will be returned to the payee. Our standard overdraft  item fee will be charged per item. An NSF notice will be sent to you.

Standard Overdraft Fees:

• We will charge you a fee of up to $32 each time we pay an overdraft.
• If your account is overdrawn for 7 or more consecutive days, we will charge an additional $5.00 per business day. A business day is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays.
• There is a limit of $160 on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account per day.
• There is a $10 de minimis for overdrafts fees. For items under $5, a $15 Overdraft fee will be charged.

How quickly must I repay my Overdraft Privilege?

Every attempt should be made to bring your account to a positive balance within 30 days. If you are not able to do so, a letter from Metairie Bank will be sent to inform you of the situation and the options available. If, after a period of time, your account has not been brought to a positive balance, we may suspend your account and take other steps to recover funds.

What does my Overdraft Privilege cost?

There is no additional cost associated with this privilege unless you use it. You will be charged our standard overdraft fees for each presentment item that we pay and we charge our standard overdraft fees for each presentment item that we return. Overdrafts may be created by checks, ACH, Point-of-Sale, ATM withdrawals, in-person withdrawals, or by other electronic means paid over the limit. (For example, we will charge you no more than $160 in overdraft fees per day.)

Standard Overdraft Fees:

• We will charge you a fee of up to $32 each time we pay an overdraft.
• If your account is overdrawn for 7 or more consecutive days, we will charge an additional $5.00 per business day. A business day is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays.
• There is a limit of $160 on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account per day.
• There is a $10 de minimis for overdrafts fees. For items under $5, a $15 Overdraft fee will be charged.

What are some of the ways I can access my Overdraft Privilege limit? Will my limit be reflected in the balance I receive?

The chart below shows some different ways you can access your Overdraft Privilege limit and indicates whether or not this limit will be reflected in the balance provided.

Access Point	Is my Overdraft Privilege limit available?	Does the balance provided reflect my Overdraft Privilege limit?
Teller	YES	YES
Writing a Check	YES	N/A
Debit Card	YES, If Opt-In Received	NO
ATM Withdrawal	YES, If Opt-In Received	NO
ACH-Auto Debit	YES	N/A
Telephone Banking	YES	NO
Online Banking	YES	NO

How soon can I use my Overdraft Privilege?

Overdraft privilege for consumer checking accounts will generally be $100 overdraft (negative) balances for the first 30 days of account opening, $300 for 31-90 days of account opening, $500 for 91-180 days of account opening, and $700 for greater than 181 days of account opening and limited to a maximum of $700 overdraft (negative} balances as long as the account is in good standing. This privilege for business accounts will generally be $100 overdraft (negative} balances for the first 30 days of account opening and limited to a maximum of $1,000 overdraft (negative} balances after the first 30 days as long as the account is in good standing.

What are some other ways I can cover overdrafts at Metairie Bank?

The best way to avoid overdrafts and Overdraft check fees is to manage your account so it doesn’t become overdrawn. However, if a mistake occurs, Metairie Bank offers the following to cover overdrafts

Ways to cover overdrafts at Metairie Bank

Ways to cover Overdrafts at Metairie Bank	Associated Fees
Good Account Management	$0
Overdraft Protection Line of Credit*	WSJ Prime+4.00%**
Overdraft Privilege	Standard Overdraft Fees: We will charge you a fee of up to $32 each time we pay an overdraft. If your account is overdrawn for 7 or more consecutive days, we will charge an additional $5.00 per business day. A business day is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. There is a limit of $160 on the total fees we can charge you for overdrawing your account per day. There is a $10 de minimis for overdrafts fees. For items under $5, a $15 Overdraft fee will be charged.
Overdraft Savings Sweep	Standard Fee of $10 per transfer Transfer Increments of $100

Posting Sequence of presentment items:

Transactions may not be processed in the order in which they occurred. The order in which transactions are received and processed may impact the total amount of fees incurred.

The posting sequence for items by transaction type is as follows:

• EFT Sort (ATM and POS transactions) – are sorted and processed against a customer’s account when the transaction file is received for posting. The transactions received are posted in the order of date and time of authorization then in ascending transaction amount order.
• Check Sort (Checks and items with a check number) – are sorted and paid in transaction code order (On-us, In House, In-Clearing), check serial number order then ascending transaction amount order.
• Amount Sort (Bill Pay & ACH’s) – are sorted and posted within transaction code order then ascending transaction amount order.

 

For information about effective money management and financial fitness, please contact a Metairie Bank Account Representative. In addition, here are websites that may be helpful.

Mapping Your Future

NFCC

 

DISCRETIONARY OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGE POLICY