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Released: January 18, 2006

Help Desk FAQ

What are the federal standards that protect my debit card?

Federal Regulation E governs lost or stolen funds when you use a debit card. To fully protect yourself, you must report a lost or stolen debit card to your bank within 2 days of the time you become aware that it’s missing. You then will be liable only for $50 of your losses.

If you notice any electronic transactions you did not make on your monthly bank statement, complain in writing immediately. If you bring the unauthorized transactions to the bank’s notice within 60 days of the statement date, your losses will be limited to $500, no matter how much money was stolen.

If you complain after the 60-day deadline, you may not get any refunds for your losses.

If you follow these rules, your bank must give you provisional credit for disputed amounts.

Overdraft protections

Since 2010, banks must offer an opt-in program in place for debit card overdrafts (insufficient funds). You must give your bank permission before it can charge you an overdraft fee for making a purchase with your debit card when you don’t have enough money in your bank account to cover the transaction. If you don’t opt in, then any debit card purchases made from the checking or savings account would be declined if there is not enough money in the account to cover the purchase. However, the bank can still pay your overdraft checks and charge you fee. Recurring debits, such as bill payments, are not covered by the opt in, so you may encounter overdraft fees if your bank clears the transaction.

Read the Federal Reserve guide to the overdraft rule.

 

Tags/Keywords

checking accounts, debit cards

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