About Overdrafts

About Overdrafts

An overdraft occurs when you do not have adequate funds 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 (called Secure Checking) that are offered to qualifying accounts.
2. We also offer overdraft protection plans, such as a link to a savings account or a dedicated line of credit. These may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about these plans.

The Regulation

Regulatory Changes

A new law is now in effect regarding certain transactions that overdraw your account, and the overdraft coverage on your bank account may have changed. 

We now give personal checking customers the choice to allow overdrafts to continue to be paid on everyday ATM and debit card transactions (if you are a participant in our Secure Checking program).

If you are a current customer and have not specifically opted in, we have assumed you do not want this service, even if you had it in the past.

Overdraft Practices

Our Standard Overdraft Practices

Qualifying personal checking accounts include a service, called Secure Checking, that may provide a safety net if there are not enough funds in the account to cover your transactions. Here's how it works:

We do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions (a fee will be charged):

• Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
• Automatic bill payments
• Transactions processed through an Automated Clearing House (ACH)

Because of the new regulation, we will not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (opt in):

• ATM transactions
• Everyday debit card transactions (one-time, point of sale transactions)

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. Ask your banker if your account includes Secure Checking.  Once an overdraft occurs, you are obligated to bring your account to a positive balance promptly. Whether your overdraft will be paid is at the discretion of First Merchants Bank, and we reserve the right not to pay. For example, we typically do not pay overdrafts if your account is not in good standing, you are not making regular deposits, or you have had excessive overdrafts.

Overdraft Fees

Standard Overdraft Fees

If we authorize transactions that cause your account to fall into a negative balance, you will incur our normal overdraft fees as disclosed in our Service Fee Schedule: 

• We will charge you a fee of $35 each time we pay an overdraft.
  
• If your account continues to have a negative balance, as of the fourth calendar day, we will charge you a fee of $8 per day until deposit(s) are made to ensure a positive collected balance. (Commerce National Bank does not charge this fee.)
  
• There is no limit on the total fees we can charge.
• If you do not overdraw your account, you will never be charged overdraft fees.

Questions?

Questions?

We want to help you make an informed decision. Please visit any banking center or call us at 1.877.556.8719 (7-7 M-F, 9-1 S) with any questions.