Overdraft Protection Services

If you have a checking account, chances are you have heard of the term “overdraft”. But what exactly does that mean? And how can you avoid it?

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough of an available balance in your account to cover a transaction or payment but pay it anyway, resulting in the account being overdrawn. Alternatively, the payment or transaction may be declined due to non-sufficient funds. In both scenarios, you will be assessed a fee¹. APGFCU^® pays overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction, and eligibility for our Courtesy Pay Programs does not guarantee that we will pay overdrafts.

What is my Available Balance?

We use the “Available Balance” to determine if there is enough money in your account to pay for a transaction, and your Available Balance may not be the same as your account’s “Current Balance”. It is important to understand how the two balances work so you know how much money is in your account at any given time.

Your Available Balance is the amount of money that is “available” in your account to make payments. In other words, the Available Balance is your Current Balance less transactions that have been authorized, but not yet settled, and portions of deposits that are not yet available for you to spend. Available Balance may not reflect all of your debit card transactions. For example, if a merchant obtains our prior authorization but does not submit a one-time debit card transaction for payment within three (3) business days of authorization (or for up to thirty (30) business days for certain types of debit card transactions), then we must release the authorization hold on the transaction. The Available Balance will not reflect this transaction once the hold has been released until the transaction has been received by us and paid from your account.

What is my Current Balance?

Your Current Balance only includes transactions that have settled up to that point in time; that is, transactions (deposits and payments) that have posted to your account. The Current Balance does not include outstanding transactions (such as checks that have not yet cleared and electronic transactions that have been authorized but which are still pending). Thus, while the term “Current” may sound as though the number you see is an up-to-date display of what is in your account, that is not always the case. Any holds for purchase transactions, holds on deposits, or other checks, payments and fees that have not yet posted will not appear in your Current Balance. Your Current Balance is the balance reflected on your periodic statements.