The reason behind this activity by the big banks goes back, as usual, to regulations by the leftist Congress to prevent their deadbeat voters from paying their own way.
In last year’s Dodd-Frank regulatory bill (could it cause anything but harm?) there was a tiny clause that effectively keeps banks from charging overdraft fees on debit card transactions.
Works like this: If you write a bum check and it cause an overdraft, the back will likely bounce your check AND charge you the overdraft fee.
If you use your debit card to make the same purchase, in many cases the bank is prohibited from charging you the fee.
Dodd-Frank’s rationale (if you want to call it that) was that a check-writer often has a day or two, especially over weekends, to get money in his account to cover his checks.
A debit card, on the other hand, in most cases hits your account immediately, weekday, weekend, business hours, nights, whenever.
The Democrats decided that it just wasn’t fair that their constituents who wanted to buy doritos and malt liquor on Saturday at 3 a.m., even with no money in their accounts, ought to be able to do it without penalty. Just like the rest of us.
This means a loss of income to the banks. This pisses the banks off. So now they are coming up with other fees to offset the income, and to flip off Dodd and Frank.
As I say, business as usual.
OK so if there aren't sufficient funds in the account then refuse to allow the transaction. Problem solved.