Overdraft Protection
An overdraft occurs when you do not have funds available in your account to cover a transaction and the transaction is processed anyway creating a negative balance in your account. Reconciling your account, the act of tracking your withdrawals and deposits, on a daily basis can help you better manage your funds and keep your budgeting more organized. To be prepared for the unexpected, it’s important to understand how overdraft practices work and to know that NBT Bank offers solutions to help you minimize the impact of an overdraft on your account.
Standard Overdraft Practices
NBT Bank has Standard Overdraft Practices that come with each account. We cover overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.
Generally, we do authorize and pay overdrafts on 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 on the following types of transactions unless you ask us to:
- ATM transactions
- Everyday debit card transactions
If you do not provide the authorization, the transactions will be declined.
If you would like to opt-in and authorize us to pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions, please contact us at 1-800-628-2265 or by visiting your local NBT Bank office. You can also opt-in by completing our Opt-In Form and mailing it to the bank at:
NBT Bank ATTN: Deposit Operations
P.O. Box 351
Norwich, NY 13815
Protect Yourself against Accidental Overdrafts
Autolink Transfer Service* allows you to link another NBT Bank savings or checking account to your primary checking account to provide protection against overdrawing that account. In the event transactions cause your primary checking account to have a negative available balance, funds will be transferred from your designated Autolink account in increments of $10 to cover the amount of any overdraft. Please see the Pricing Schedule for details.
If you would like to opt-in and authorize us to pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions, please contact us at 1-800-628-2265 or by visiting your NBT Bank office. You can also opt-in by completing our Opt-in Form and mailing it to the bank at:
NBT Bank ATTN: Deposit Operations
P.O. Box 351
Norwich, NY 13815
*Transaction limitations may apply. Federal Banking regulations place limitations on certain transfers and withdrawals from savings and money market accounts. Withdrawals or transfers made by automatic, pre-authorized, telephonic agreement order, or instruction, check, draft, debit card, or similar order made from this account to other accounts or to third parties are restricted to no more than six per monitoring period. The monitoring period for all savings accounts except those tied to checking accounts with portfolio statements is monthly up to the quarterly statement date. Money market accounts and savings accounts with portfolio statement are monitored by statement cycle.
Protect Yourself against Accidental Overdrafts
Our Personal Overdraft Line of Credit is attached to a personal checking account to provide protection against accidental overdrafts. In the event that your transactions cause the protected checking account to become overdrawn, or a request is received by phone or mail to transfer funds to a checking account up to the unused portion of the credit line; all transfers from the Credit Line Account to cover the transaction will be made in the greater of $50 increments, if available under your Credit Line Account, or, if sufficient funds are not available under the Credit Line Account, the full amount of credit remaining under the line. No transfer fees will be charged for this convenient service. While you have an outsanding balance on your Line of Credit, interest will be charged. Monthly payments of principal and interest will be deducted from your checking account unless your minimum payment is made by the due date. Payments can be made at any conveniently located NBT Bank office or using Online Banking.
Find more information on fees or apply for a Personal Overdraft Line of Credit. You can also contact your local NBT Bank office or our Call Center at 1-800-NBT-BANK (1-800-628-2265) today.
Please note that an NBT Personal Overdraft Line of Credit is subject to credit application and approval.
Managing Your Checking Account
Review easy steps to help you better manage your account.
The best way to avoid the embarrassment and expense of overdrafts is to take the time to properly manage your checking account.
- Step 1: Record all of your transactions. Be sure there’s an entry in your checkbook register for each deposit you make and check you write. Don’t forget to write in your ATM withdrawals, debit card transactions and online payments.
- Step 2: Do the math…and double check it! Add your deposits and subtract the various types of withdrawals. Be sure to check your math regularly, as it’s easy to make a mistake.
- Step 3: Balance your checkbook on a regular basis. You should balance your checkbook at least once a month, using the monthly statement provided by the bank. If you have NBT Online Banker, you can check your account balance on a daily basis and balance it more frequently.
If you’re not sure how to balance your checking account, talk to an NBT Banker at one of our convenient offices or contact our Call Center at 1-800-NBT-BANK (1-800-628-2265).
