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

Overdraft Protection FAQs

Overdraft protection is a program or solution a financial institution might offer to allow transactions to be completed even when the member doesn't have enough in their account to cover the transaction. This can keep checks from bouncing or debit card transactions from being rejected at the point of sale. At First Service, we offer a few overdraft protection options to help ensure your peace of mind. These include a Courtesy Pay program that can cover checks, electronic payments, debit card purchases, and transfers, as well as our Overdraft Transfer program, which automatically transfers funds from a First Service savings account, money market account, or personal line of credit to your checking account to cover overdrafts. 

Courtesy Pay is an extension of Overdraft Protection. When you opt-in to Courtesy Pay, you are also opting-in to Overdraft Protection. 

Courtesy Pay is a service offered to checking account members and provides a limited level of protection from non-sufficient fund (NSF) service charges for returned checks and declined ATM or debit card transactions. Members must opt in to extend Courtesy Pay coverage to include ATM or debit card transactions that overdraw the account. 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.

This is how Courtesy Pay will work:
  1. You use your debit card, conduct a transfer, 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 based on the Courtesy Pay coverage on your account. Checks, electronic transactions, and recurring debits are included in the standard Courtesy Pay program. Members must opt in for extended coverage that includes one-time debit card and ATM transactions.
  3. We will assess a $30.00 service charge for each transaction over $5.00 that is covered by your selected Courtesy Pay option. You will not be assessed a Courtesy Pay service charge for transactions of $5.00 or less.
You can change your Courtesy Pay preferences by logging in to First Service Digital Banking and following these steps:

Click on Additional Services in the menu under Settings.
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.”
Click on the accounts that you want to “Opt In” and the toggles will turn green.
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.
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.
  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.