Happy woman on her phone enrolling in overdraft protection
Overdraft Protection

The Safety Net Your Account Deserves

Mistakes happen, and sometimes they lead to an overdraft. When expenses exceed your account balance, it can be more than just a minor inconvenience. With our tailored Overdraft Protection options, your account is always in safe hands.

Understanding Overdraft Protection

Think of Overdraft Protection as insurance for your transactions. It ensures that even if funds are low, your essential payments aren’t compromised. At First Service, we prioritize your financial security. Our diverse solutions, including the Courtesy Pay program1 and Overdraft Transfer,2 are designed to offer flexibility and peace of mind.

Compare Overdraft Protection Options

All eligible accounts are automatically opted in to Courtesy Pay for checks, electronic payments, and transactions processed through the Automatic Clearing House (ACH). If you would like Courtesy Pay to also pay one-time debit and ATM transactions, all you have to do is opt in. 

Select and combine one or more Overdraft Protection programs to ensure adequate coverage and peace of mind. If you have Overdraft Transfer combined with Courtesy Pay, we will always pay the overdraft by transfer method before using Courtesy Pay. Courtesy Pay fees are waived on all transactions of $5.00 or less.


Overdraft TransferCourtesy Pay (Standard)Courtesy Pay (Additional)
How It WorksIf your account is overdrawn, we'll automatically transfer funds from your savings account or line of credit to pay checks, online bill payments, debit card purchases, and ATM withdrawals.This option is included with your account if you meet certain criteria. We generally let your online bill payments and checks go through but decline debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals.If you select this option, we may authorize debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals that overdraw your account.
ATM OverdraftsCovered for $5.00DeclinedCovered for $30.00
Debit Card OverdraftsCovered for $5.00DeclinedCovered for $30.00
Online Bill Payment OverdraftsCovered for $5.00Covered for $30.00Covered for $30.00
Check OverdraftsCovered for $5.00Covered for $30.00Covered for $30.00
ACH Transaction OverdraftsCovered for $5.00Covered for $30.00Covered for $30.00

Courtesy Pay Grace Period

Courtesy Pay Grace Period is here to lend you a helping hand when you overdraft your account, because we know life happens!

  • Get an Alert

    You'll get a text message when a transaction puts your account negative.
  • Make a Deposit

    You'll have 24-hours from the time of the transaction to bring your account positive.

     
  • Save Money

    We'll waive the Courtesy Pay fee and you can bank like an owner. It's that easy!

Overdraft Protection FAQs

Yes. You can combine Overdraft Protection programs to ensure adequate coverage and peace of mind. If you have Overdraft Transfer protection combined with Courtesy Pay, we will always pay the overdraft by transfer method before using Courtesy Pay.

If you have established Overdraft Protection to transfer funds from your savings or line of credit, we will always pay the overdraft by this method before using Courtesy Pay.
  1. Once you’ve logged in to digital banking, navigate to Overdraft Transfer Protection under Accounts.
  2. You will see a dropdown menu that shows all of your accounts that are eligible for overdraft protection.
  3. Select the account for which you'd like to set up overdraft protection.
  4. Once you've selected an account, you can Add, Delete, or Arrange the overdraft settings by following the prompts on screen.

Courtesy Pay is a service offered to checking account members and provides a limited level of protection from non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees for returned checks and declined ATM or debit card transactions. It is not a loan — it is a courtesy extended to qualified members in good standing to cover items, up to your eligible limit. We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means that we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transactions.

No. The credit union is allowing you to overdraw your account to your Courtesy Pay limit as a non-contractual courtesy. This discretionary service can be withdrawn at any time by First Service.
Members over the age of 18 with accounts in good standing may qualify for Courtesy Pay when the account is opened for at least thirty days. Good standing means that there are no First Service loan obligations in default, there are no liens for any legal or administrative order, and the checking account balance is positive for at least 24 hours in any 30-day period.
You will only be assessed a service charge when you overdraw your checking account and Courtesy Pay covers the overdrawn amount. There is a standard Courtesy Pay fee of $30.00 per transaction when you overdraw your checking account. You can avoid paying this service charge if you bring your account positive within 24 hours of the negative transaction.

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.

Courtesy Pay will save you non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees and embarrassment from merchants when you make a mistake in your checkbook, have an unplanned expense, or run short on cash between paydays. Instead of returning checks unpaid, First Service may automatically pay them if you qualify.
  1. Click on Additional Services in the menu under Settings.
  2. Click Courtesy Pay to see an explanation of the service, and a list of any accounts eligible for Courtesy Pay with an on/off switch to the right of each one. The toggle will be gray if the account has not “Opted In.”
  3. Click on the accounts that you want to “Opt In” and the toggles will turn green.
  4. After you’ve made your selections, check the box to agree to the terms and click Save Changes to enroll the account(s) into Courtesy Pay.

The total amount you can overdraw using Courtesy Pay will depend on how long you have been a member and whether you have a direct deposit set up on your checking account.

Courtesy Pay Limits

Account Type

Length of Membership

Direct Deposit

Courtesy Pay Limit

Checking Account

Less than 1 Month

N/A

$0

Less than 1 Year

No

$500

Yes

$750

More than 1 Year

No

$1000

Yes

$1300

This is how Courtesy Pay will work:

  1. You use your debit card or write a check from your checking account.
  2. If funds are not available, and you have exhausted your other overdraft resources, Courtesy Pay will allow transactions to clear your account up to your eligible amount.
  3. We will assess a $30 service charge for each transaction covered by Courtesy Pay.
You can avoid paying this service charge if you bring your account positive within 24 hours of the negative transaction.

With Courtesy Pay, you can avoid any inconvenience or fees from merchants when you make a mistake in your checkbook, have an unplanned expense, or run short on cash between paydays. Instead of returning transactions unpaid, First Service may automatically pay them and assess a $30.00 Courtesy Pay service charge for charges of $5.00 or more. If you do not opt in to Courtesy Pay or do not qualify, First Service will return any transactions unpaid and assess a $30.00 NSF service charge.

The Courtesy Pay service charge will not be applied to transactions of $5.00 or less that overdraw your account.

You can avoid paying the Courtesy Pay service charge if you bring your account positive within 24 hours of the negative transaction.

You can avoid paying the $30 Courtesy Pay fee by making sure your account is positive within 24-hours of the negative transaction.

You have up to 30 days to pay any overdrawn amount, including Courtesy Pay fees. However, depending on the situation, we can ask for repayment at any time. Any deposits you make will be applied to the overdrawn balance first.
This has no effect on your credit rating if you bring your overdrawn account to a positive balance in a timely manner, which we ask you to do within the required 30 days.