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Overdraft Services

No More Overdraft Protection Fees 

Choose the Overdraft Option to Protect Your Everyday Spending

Overdrafts come at unexpected times when you don’t have enough money in your account to pay for expenses, such as payments or purchases, but we pay it anyway1. Your available balance is what is available for immediate withdrawal or to pay other debit items; it takes into account any pending debits that have been received but have not yet been posted to your account.

Pending debits can include preauthorized debit card transactions, pending checks, transfers, withdrawals, or holds on your personal account. We know things don’t go as planned, but with a PrimeWay checking account, you have options to keep you covered.

Three Ways to Cover Overdraft

1. Overdraft Protection Plan

PrimeWay offers an Overdraft Protection Plan2 where an overdraft is paid by drawing money directly from your approved linked savings account when you set up this option.

In the event that you have a spending oversight in your account, this overdraft protection can save you from Non-Sufficient Fund (NSF) charges and charges from merchants.

2. Stay Positive Line of Credit

Stay Positive is a line of credit2 established for those who qualify and want that extra overdraft protection. Suppose you select to opt-in your debit card and select the Stay Positive Line of Credit for overdraft protection. If you have a transaction exceeding your "available balance," we would first look to your approved linked savings account if you have this option set up to see if you had available funds to cover the overdraft portion of the transaction. If the savings account did not have ample funds to cover the entire overdraft, the remainder would be a draw on the Stay Positive Line of Credit.

There is no fee for the service, but the Stay Positive Line of Credit loan is subject to interest charges, a separate application, credit underwriting, and approval. Repayment of the line of credit will report as debt on your credit report and can help build your credit score when used appropriately and requires payments of 20% of the monthly balance or $20 minimum until the loan is paid in full. There are no early prepayment fees or access fees; however, interest and late fees on the loan do apply.

You must have the account 60 days before the line of credit is active.

3. Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service

PrimeWay's Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service (OOPS)3 is a courtesy pay available to any member with a checking account that is in good standing. All eligible accounts are automatically enrolled in the Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service for the following transactions:

  • Checks
  • Automatic Bill Payments
  • ACH and Electronic Transactions

OOPS Courtesy Pay Opt-In for Debit and ATM Transactions:

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to do so via opt-in:

  • One-time debit card transactions
  • ATM transactions

Federal regulations require you to opt-in if you would like to authorize the Occasional Overdraft Protection Service (OOPS) for one-time debit and ATM transactions.

If you are in good standing with us, we may honor your overdrafts up to $100.00 for all accounts. 

Requirements to be in Good Standing:

  • Account has been open for at least 90 days
  • Age 18 or older
  • Account must be at a positive available balance at least once every 30 days
  • No delinquent loans or obligations
  • No past charge-offs that have not been fully recovered
  • No tax levies or garnishments
  • Regular deposits are available to cover transactions

The OOPS program is not available on the following accounts: Business Accounts

 

Overdraft Services FAQs

How do I opt-in to the elective OOPS transaction types?

Federal regulations require you to opt-in if you would like to authorize the Occasional Overdraft Protection Service (OOPS) for one-time debit and ATM transactions. Other types of transactions, including checks, ACH transactions, and recurring debits are not a part of the regulation and are covered using the choices you select for eligible accounts. To opt-in for ATM and one-time debit card transactions, you have the following options:

If you would like to opt out at any time, simply give us a call at (713) 799-6200 or (800) 554-5690 or visit any of our retail centers.

How do I opt-in to the elective OOPS transaction types?

You can enable the Overdraft Protection Plan when you open your checking and savings accounts online by selecting to Enable Overdraft Protection when you are asked to fund the new accounts. If you want to have the overdraft transactions paid by a line of credit, you will need to do a separate application for the line of credit.

If you open your account in a retail center, your Financial Service Representative will assist you in adding the Overdraft Protection Plan.

If you are already a member, you can call (713) 799-6200 and a representative can assist you.

If I have Overdraft Protection, will this cover overdrafts before OOPS?

If you have established the Overdraft Protection Plan, such as a line of credit or automatic transfer from your other accounts, we will always look to pay any overdraft by those other methods first before paying your overdraft utilizing OOPS. 

You will not have any overdraft protection if the designated account has insufficient funds to cover the transaction or if the loan or credit card account has insufficient credit available.

How will I know when my account is overdrawn?
We provide 24/7, online access to your accounts, as well as monthly statements to let you know your available account balance. You can also set up free Account Alerts to immediately notify you of account activity including overdrafts. Periodically, we may also send you reminder letters advising you of your overdrawn account.
How is my available balance for OOPS calculated?

Checks and other transactions on a checking account with us are paid based on your available balance, and not the actual balance.

Your actual balance is the actual amount of funds in the account (based on credits and debits posted to the account at that time.

Your available balance is generally equal to the actual balance, less the amount of any holds placed on recent deposits, holds placed for other reasons, and holds for pending transactions (such as debit card purchases) that we have authorized but that have not yet posted to the account.

If an item presented for payment against your account exceeds the available balance, we will treat it as an overdraft even if the actual balance exceeds the amount of the item.

Will an overdraft affect my credit rating?
Whether or not overdraft protection affects your credit rating is dependent on several things.  First, if you selected the Stay Positive Line of Credit as coverage for your overdrafts, we will report the overdrawn amount (up to your limit) as a loan balance. As long as you repay 20% or $20 (whichever is higher) monthly until the balance is paid in full, the result shows an on-time loan reporting on your credit each month and can help your credit score. If you do not select the Stay Positive Line of Credit but choose to set up overdraft to pull from your savings account with no fee, that does not impact your credit.
How long do I have to repay the overdrawn amount?
If you have overdrawn your checking and the funds were taken from your attached saving account, that money is yours, and you choose when you replenish your savings account. If there were insufficient available funds and your checking account went negative, you have 30 days to repay the total amount. If you have requested the Stay Positive Line of Credit, you can make monthly payments taking up to 6 months to pay the balance in full.

1 PrimeWay pays 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 and there is not enough money in your account to cover the entire amount, your transaction will be declined, and your account may be charged a $15 NSF fee. Please refer to the Truth-in-Savings disclosure for details.

2 Stay Positive Line of Credit loans are subject to a separate application, credit underwriting and approval.

3 Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service (OOPS): OOPS is subject to a 90-day waiting period for new accounts and members must meet OOPS qualifications. On the 91st day, the account will be reviewed for qualifications to determine if service will be added. Transactions exceeding your established limit (and other types of transactions) will not be covered. PrimeWay limits the amount it will pay on overdrafts on any account. You have the right to opt out of this service.

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