[Sender]

My bank hopes and prays that people overdraft with their debit cards or checks. They charge $30+ for each occurrence. One day when I didn't realize my wife had paid a large bill, I stopped at the grocery store and overdrew by about $2. There is no notification, it just says "approved".

Later in the day I drove through McDonalds for my grandson and spent $4, then I later bought a coke for $1. All were approved with no notification.

When I got home I found my account $100 overdrawn due to $90 in charges. I asked the bank to change my account so that any overdrafts would be denied at the POS. They said there is no way to do that, all overdrafts will continue to be approved with no notification and I must pay all the charges.

Now I realize that it's my fault that I overdrew, but why can I not be advised of that fact at the POS? The system knows the funds are not in the account. There should be a question such as "If you continue with this transaction there will be an overdraft fee. Continue? Y/N".

I think the banks love this source of extra revenue.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Yeah, the same thing happens with credit cards. No more "credit limit reached" rejections. Major league cash cow.

Banks absolutely love debit cards, which I never use. I charge [literally] everything on my Visa and make one giant payoff each month. As long as one's credit limit is high enough to cover a whole month's spending, and you pay it off each month of course, it avoids that pitfall. And I like the idea of using their money for 45 days.

The best we can do is shop around for banking services. There are better deals out there. If you're willing to deal with a bank that may not have a physical presence in your town, you can do better.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

And why can you not elect to have funds transferred from savings automatically if you are going to overdraw?

SeaFirst in the PNW ONLY allows this if you have their own issued credit card. Yes. You have to pass their credit check to have your own funds transferred from your savings account to your checking account in order to avoid overdraft.

We need alternative banks and alternatives to public education.

[art_rocks]

Did you change banks?

[endthematrix]

See if they offer overdraft protection.

[Erasmus]

Now I realize that it's my fault that I overdrew, but why can I not be advised of that fact at the POS?

Ummm, maybe, because the bank is a POS?

[Almondjoy]

Perhaps you should be mad at your wife and not the bank?