Overdraft fee? (pretty simple)

Frostozuna

Long story short, I had maybe $18 in my checking account (Bank of America) after a little Christmas shopping but just dropped a paycheck in there on my way to class. The lowest amount I can withdraw from the ATMs around here is $20 - will I be able get some cash without getting charged an overdraft fee?

BlochWave

Well if you go to an ATM machine, you'll have the option to check your account balance

Barring ATM fees, if the amount in there is over 20, then no. If not, then oh yes

My bank deposits paychecks and the like nearly instantly, but depending on the bank and other factors, it might not be deposited yet, so you should check.

Edit: Of course you can just go into the bank and withdraw whatever amount you want if you don't have 20 bucks in there.

tallgeeze

Depends on whether your deposit was in the ATM, direct deposit, or to a teller. I don't work for BoA, but for another bank. It's all the same pretty much.

If you deposited with an ATM it will give you temp credit until the tellers get to it and make it all official. ATM deposits are based on the honor system. If you fudge the numbers, the tellers are going to notice once they empty it out.

If your job does direct deposit, then you should be good to go if you know around what time the money usually comes through.

If you deposited something through a teller it there can be a little wait time depending on what you deposited. If you deposited a BoA check then they can transfer the money instantly. If the check is from another bank you are gonna have to wait until those funds clear. You could get cash back, but the amount you can get is based on what you have in your account before the deposit was made.

The exceptions to the rule are if the check was from the goverment or a cashiers check(or something like it). It wouldn't also hurt to be a regular customer and hope the tellers recognize you. They will most likely give you a break and give you the cash.

Edit:

I just realized I probably didn't even answer the question, lol. If you suspect that you may go into the negative then don't even try it. If your did your deposit before the bank's end of day (usually at 4pm) then your deposit will be on the current day's business. If it's after that it won't be deposited until the next day.

Overdraft fees are so screwy it's safer not to play on the edge. If you do get one make a fuss or beg the customer service in the bank to get them to reverse the fee. If it's your first time they usually do it as a courtesy.

DasUberEdward

Yeah be careful with overdraft fees. I had less than one dollar cost me over 100.

Dark Moon

Just a note about overdraft fees: If you do happen to incur one by accident, and it's the first time this has ever happened to you, try calling up the bank and explaining yourself. Be very apologetic and there's a fairly good chance they'll waive the fee. Note that this will probably only work once and will most likely only work at a bank/credit union if you've had an account there for a longer time.

ElJeffe

At BofA, you're credited the amount of the deposit up to $100 instantly when you deposit through an ATM. More than that has to be approved, but it usually goes through in a day or so.

So you should be able to withdraw $100 immediately without an overdraft fee, unless you have outstanding debits that go through. If you have no outstanding debits, it's not possible to overdraw yourself, because the bank won't give you more money than you have.

ElJeffe

Dark Moon wrote: »

Just a note about overdraft fees: If you do happen to incur one by accident, and it's the first time this has ever happened to you, try calling up the bank and explaining yourself. Be very apologetic and there's a fairly good chance they'll waive the fee. Note that this will probably only work once and will most likely only work at a bank/credit union if you've had an account there for a longer time.

Man, I haven't been able to get this to work when the bank actually was at fault.

Dark Moon

ElJeffe wrote: »

Dark Moon wrote: »

Just a note about overdraft fees: If you do happen to incur one by accident, and it's the first time this has ever happened to you, try calling up the bank and explaining yourself. Be very apologetic and there's a fairly good chance they'll waive the fee. Note that this will probably only work once and will most likely only work at a bank/credit union if you've had an account there for a longer time.

Man, I haven't been able to get this to work when the bank actually was at fault.

Well, it'll depend a lot on the bank. Big banks like BoA or TD or something are less likely to let it slide, as you're calling in to a huge call center where most everybody's overworked, underpaid and not happy about it, and getting something like this approved would probably involve a fair number of hoops (manager approvals or at least special reps). If you've been a member of a local credit union for 20 years where you call in and you talk to one of the managers from your local branch, they're a lot more accommodating.

Yet another reason why I have to wonder why anyone would ever belong to a big bank as opposed to a local credit union.

Jasconius

The real answer is that it depends entirely on when your check is posted to your account.

If you bring in a physical check to a bank, they don't post it immediately. Most banks post in the afternoon. If you brought in your check after that time, it won't be posted until the next day.

Posted is different than cleared.

Posted is "We got the check"

Cleared is "The check was good, here's your money".

You can go to an ATM and get money on a posted check without a fee. This is referred to as your "Available Balance". Cleared would be your "Ledger Balance" which most ATM's don't show, because unless you are in the habit of depositing a lot of bounced checks, it's meaningless.