Overdraft fees vary widely in 2026. Compare 25 major U.S. banks and see which charge $0, which reduced fees, and which still charge up to $37.
May 22, 2026
Overdraft fees in 2026 differ in two ways that matter: how much they cost, and how they work. The 25 banks below charge anywhere from $0 to $37 per overdraft — but the posted price is only half the story: banks differ in whether they charge at all, in how large a negative balance they tolerate before a fee triggers, and in how long a customer has to cure the negative before the fee posts. Two accounts with the same nominal fee can produce very different real costs depending on these structural features.
The headline numbers still matter. Bankrate's 2025 Checking Account and ATM Fee Study found the average overdraft fee fell 1% year-over-year to $26.77, while the average non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee declined for the fourth consecutive year to a record-low $16.82. Yet the largest US banks still derive meaningful revenue from these fees. A Consumer Federation of America analysis of FFIEC call-report data published in April 2025 found JPMorgan Chase collected $1.028 billion in overdraft fees in 2024 and Wells Fargo collected $1.0 billion — together more than 40% of the $4.88 billion reported by the ten largest charging institutions.
This guide groups all 25 banks into three structural categories: those that have eliminated overdraft fees entirely, those that charge reduced fees softened by substantial buffers or grace periods, and those that retain traditional structures of $34–$36 with minimal buffer.
Banks are grouped by structural category and listed alphabetically within each. Buffer = the negative balance below which no fee is charged. Grace = additional time to cure a negative balance before the fee posts.
Bank overdraft policies in 2026 cluster into three categories that differ in kind, not merely degree.
Category 1 — Eliminated. Ten banks profiled below charge no overdraft fee whatsoever on their primary consumer checking accounts. At Capital One, Citibank, Ally, EverBank, Varo, and Truist (beyond its buffer), a transaction that exceeds the available balance is generally declined. At Chime (SpotMe), SoFi, Discover (Balance+), and Alliant (Courtesy Pay), the bank covers eligible transactions up to a posted limit and recovers the advance from the next deposit, with no fee or interest. The mechanism difference is meaningful: a "declined" model produces no negative balance but may cause a missed payment; a "covered" model produces a short-lived negative balance the customer must replenish. Choosing a no-fee bank is one of several ways to avoid overdraft fees entirely.
Category 2 — Reduced and softened. Ten banks have kept some form of overdraft fee but added structural softening. Bank of America cut its fee from $35 to $10; Huntington, BMO, and Santander cut to $15; KeyBank, Navy Federal, and USAA sit at $20–$29; PNC, Regions, and US Bank retain a higher $36 nominal fee but pair it with buffers and grace. Buffers range from $5 to $100, and several add a one-business-day grace window. The economic question is whether a $36 fee with a $50 buffer and 24-hour grace is more or less burdensome than a $20 fee with no buffer; answering it requires understanding one's own overdraft pattern.
Category 3 — Traditional structures. Five banks still charge $34–$37 with thin buffers ($5 or $50) and limited grace: Chase, Citizens, Fifth Third, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo. Several added partial softening — Chase's $50 next-day grace, Wells Fargo's Extra Day Grace, TD's Grace — but all remain materially more expensive than peers in Categories 1 and 2 for customers who overdraft repeatedly. As the Consumer Federation of America's April 2025 analysis documented, the largest of these are where overdraft revenue remains a billion-dollar line.
Ally eliminated overdraft fees in June 2021 and built CoverDraft as the no-fee replacement. Customers qualify 30 days after depositing $100 into a Spending Account; the base coverage limit is $100, expandable to $250 with qualifying direct deposits of $250 or more in two consecutive months. The next deposit automatically repays the negative balance, and customers have 14 days to bring the account positive. When a transaction exceeds both the available balance and the CoverDraft limit, Ally declines it without charging a fee. Overdraft Transfer Service from a linked Ally savings account is also free, with transfers rounded up to the nearest $100.
Alliant stopped charging overdraft and NSF fees in August 2021. Members in good standing — defined as having an Alliant checking account open at least six months with $600 or more in qualifying deposits in the prior 30 days — automatically receive Courtesy Pay, under which the credit union may, at its discretion, cover checks and ACH electronic transactions that would otherwise return for insufficient funds. An opt-in Extended Courtesy Pay program covers everyday debit card transactions; ATM withdrawals are not covered. Overdraft balances must be repaid within 30 days. The full balance of any covered overdraft becomes immediately due, but there is no per-item fee and no transfer fee from a linked savings account.
Capital One eliminated overdraft fees on consumer checking accounts in early 2022. Three settings are available: Auto-Decline (the default), Free Savings Transfer (automatic transfer from linked savings, no fee), and No-Fee Overdraft, which authorizes the bank to pay checks, ACH items, and recurring debit card payments — and optionally ATM and one-time debit card transactions — without charging a fee. To qualify for No-Fee Overdraft, a customer must deposit at least $250 in two of the previous three calendar months; new accounts therefore cannot use the feature for at least 60 days.
Chime SpotMe covers eligible debit card transactions and cash withdrawals up to a member-specific limit, starting at $20 and rising to as much as $200 based on account history, direct-deposit frequency, and spending activity. Eligibility requires $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits per month. The next deposit automatically repays the negative balance. Chime never charges interest or a fee; customers may leave optional tips. Transactions that exceed both the available balance and the SpotMe limit are declined. Note that Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank — banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A.
Citibank eliminated overdraft fees, overdraft protection transfer fees, and returned item (NSF) fees on June 19, 2022, becoming the largest US retail bank at the time to do so. Transactions that exceed the available balance are generally declined. Citi continues to offer Safety Check (automatic transfer from a linked Citi savings account) and Checking Plus (a revolving line of credit), both of which now operate without overdraft-related fees. Before the change, Citi had charged $34 per overdraft up to four times per day.
Discover eliminated insufficient-funds fees in 2019 and has never charged overdraft fees on its Cashback Debit checking account. In 2024, Discover launched Balance+, which allows Cashback Debit account holders to overdraw their checking account up to $200 on debit card purchases with no fees. Eligibility requires $200 or more in monthly direct deposits in two consecutive months. As with Chime and SoFi, the next deposit applies automatically to the negative balance.
EverBank (formerly TIAA Bank) does not charge overdraft or NSF fees on Performance Checking accounts. Transactions that exceed the available balance are generally declined. An optional Overdraft Protection Service provides fee-free transfers from a linked EverBank account.
SoFi Checking & Savings charges no overdraft fees. Members who receive $1,000 or more in eligible direct deposits in a rolling 31-day period qualify for Overdraft Coverage of up to $50 on debit card purchases. Transactions above that limit are declined. SoFi pays competitive APY on checking balances, an unusual combination for an overdraft-free account.
Truist One Checking charges no overdraft fees on its primary consumer checking account. Eligible accounts receive a $100 Balance Buffer that allows transactions to overdraw the account by up to $100 with no fee; to qualify, the account must be at least 35 days old, carry a positive balance, and have received a monthly direct deposit of $100 or more. Once the buffer is exhausted, additional transactions are typically declined or returned unless the customer has set up overdraft protection from a linked account. The Truist Confidence Account, a Bank On–certified checkless account, blocks overdrafts entirely.
Varo Bank does not charge overdraft fees on its Varo Bank Account. Transactions that exceed the available balance are typically declined, though negative balances may still occur from authorization/settlement mismatches. Varo previously offered a No Fee Overdraft program; the bank now markets short-term liquidity through the separate Varo Advance product, which is a small-dollar cash advance rather than an overdraft service.
Bank of America cut its overdraft fee from $35 to $10 in May 2022 and eliminated NSF fees, overdraft protection transfer fees, and the extended overdraft fee. The fee applies to overdrafts created by check, recurring debit card transactions, or other electronic means; one-time debit card and ATM transactions are declined when funds are insufficient unless the customer opts in. Bank of America caps overdraft fees at two per day ($20 maximum), the lowest daily cap among the largest US banks. The Advantage SafeBalance accounts charge no overdraft fees at all, and Balance Connect allows free automatic transfers from up to five linked backup accounts.
BMO (formerly BMO Harris) eliminated NSF fees and overdraft transfer fees in 2022 and cut its overdraft fee by more than half, to $15 per item with a limit of three per day. The bank does not charge an overdraft fee if a consumer account is overdrawn by $20 or less at the close of the business day the item is presented, and it grants a one-business-day extension: no fee if the account is overdrawn by $20 or less at the close of the next business day. Per-item fees apply only if the account remains overdrawn by more than $20 after that window; items of $5 or less are not charged.
Huntington Bank charges $15 per overdraft (reduced from $36 in July 2022), capped at three per day ($45). Its 24-Hour Grace, which traces to the bank's 2010 "Fair Play Banking" launch and is patented (US Pat. No. 8,364,581 and others), gives customers until midnight Central Time the next business day to bring the account positive and avoid all fees — one of the longest-running grace programs in US banking. In September 2020, Huntington added the $50 Safety Zone, which waives any fee when the account is overdrawn by $50 or less at end-of-day. Customers who exceed the Safety Zone and miss the Grace window may also access Standby Cash, a $100–$750 digital line of credit with a 5% cash advance fee and 0% interest if repaid via autopay over three months.
KeyBank charges $20 per overdraft item, with a daily cap of three ($60) and a monthly cap of 20 items. The Key Coverage Zone waives the fee when the end-of-day overdrawn balance is $20 or less. Accounts overdrawn by more than $20 for five consecutive business days incur a Recurring Overdraft Service Charge of $20. The KeyBank Hassle-Free Account does not allow overdrafts at all. KeyBank eliminated NSF fees in 2022.
Navy Federal's Optional Overdraft Protection Service (OOPS) charges $20 per overdraft transaction, capped at one per day. The fee does not apply to items of $20 or less, and the account must be overdrawn by more than $50 for a fee to trigger — a $50 buffer comparable to several Category 2 peers. Total overdraft balances are capped at $500. The CFPB ordered Navy Federal in November 2024 to pay $80 million in consumer redress and $15 million in civil penalties for allegedly illegal surprise overdraft fees charged from 2017 to 2022 on ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases — a reminder that a softened headline structure does not guarantee clean execution.
PNC's Virtual Wallet charges $36 per overdraft item, capped at one per day — the lowest daily limit of any traditional-fee bank. PNC waives the fee if the account is overdrawn by $5 or less at end-of-day. Low Cash Mode, exclusive to Virtual Wallet, provides at least 24 hours of "Extra Time" to bring the account positive after a low-balance alert; if the available balance is at least $0 before Extra Time expires, the fee is not assessed. PNC charges no NSF fees, and PNC Simple Checking is Bank On–certified with no overdraft fees.
Regions charges $36 per Paid Overdraft Item, capped at three per day. The fee is waived when the available balance is overdrawn by $5 or less after end-of-day processing. Regions Overdraft Grace gives customers until 8 p.m. Central Time the next business day to bring the account to within $5 of zero. Regions eliminated NSF fees and overdraft protection transfer fees in 2022. Note that Regions was the subject of a 2022 CFPB enforcement action requiring $141 million in refunds for surprise overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions; the CFPB terminated the consent order in July 2025.
Santander Safety Net sets the highest no-fee threshold of any traditional US bank: no overdraft fee is charged unless the account is overdrawn by more than $100 after a transaction posts. The bank reduced its overdraft fee to $15 from $35 in November 2022, eliminated its NSF fee, and capped daily overdraft fees at three. The $100 threshold — which Santander has called the easiest number for customers to remember — makes the bank functionally fee-free for the large majority of accidental small overdrafts; the bank estimated roughly 90% of customers would never incur a fee under it.
US Bank Smartly Checking charges a $36 Overdraft Paid Fee per item, capped at three per day. The fee applies only when the overdrawn item is $5.01 or more and the negative available balance is $50.01 or more — a substantial $50 buffer. Overdraft Fee Forgiven waives the fee if the customer makes a qualifying deposit by 11 p.m. ET on the same business day the fee was charged. US Bank eliminated NSF fees in 2022.
USAA's Federal Savings Bank charges $29 per overdraft, limited to one charge per day, when an item is paid into overdraft. Effective October 10, 2025, USAA raised its no-fee buffer from $50 to $100 — tying Santander for the highest buffer in this comparison; per the bank's notice, the amount an account can be overdrawn before the fee applies increased "from negative (-) $50 to negative (-) $100." Individual items of $5 or less are not charged. USAA offers free overdraft transfers from a linked USAA account but does not provide a multi-day grace window of the type Chase, Wells Fargo, or US Bank offer.
The five banks in this category retain $34–$37 fees with thin buffers. According to the Consumer Federation of America's analysis of 2024 FFIEC data, the largest of these account for the vast majority of bank overdraft revenue: JPMorgan Chase collected $1.028 billion and Wells Fargo collected $1.0 billion in overdraft fees alone in 2024, and the ten largest charging institutions together collected $4.88 billion. Even after industry-wide reform, traditional fee structures remain a billion-dollar business.
Chase charges $34 per overdraft, capped at three per day ($102). Chase Overdraft Assist waives the fee in two cases: when the account is overdrawn by $50 or less at end-of-day, or when the customer brings the balance back to within $50 of zero by 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. PT) the next business day. Items of $5 or less are not charged. Chase does not charge NSF fees, and Chase Secure Banking is a Bank On–certified checkless account with no overdraft fees. Despite these reforms, according to American Banker, JPMorgan collected $815 million in overdraft-related revenue for the first nine months of 2025 — about $58 million more than the same period in 2024, an increase of 7.66% year-over-year.
Citizens charges $35 per overdraft, capped at five per day ($175) — the highest daily cap of any major US bank. The $5 Overdraft Pass waives the fee when the overdraft item or end-of-day balance is $5 or less. Citizens Peace of Mind rebates fees if the customer brings the available balance to $0 or above by 10 p.m. ET the next business day. Per American Banker, Citizens collected about $90.7 million in overdraft fee income through the first three quarters of 2025, roughly $13.1 million more year over year — a 16.9% increase, the steepest among large banks tracked.
Fifth Third charges $37 per overdraft — the highest standard fee among major US banks — capped at three per day ($111). The bank eliminated NSF fees in June 2022. The Extra Time feature gives Momentum Checking customers until 11:59:59 p.m. ET the next business day to bring the balance to at least $0 and avoid all fees, and new Momentum and Preferred Checking accounts receive a 90-day Free Overdraft Window. Items of $5 or less are not charged, and no fee applies if the account is overdrawn by $5 or less at end-of-day.
TD Bank charges $35 per overdraft transaction, capped at three per day ($105), and waives the fee on amounts $50 or less. Overdraft Grace, introduced in October 2022, refunds the overdraft fee if the customer brings the available balance to $0 or above by 11 p.m. ET the next business day. TD does not charge NSF fees on consumer accounts.
Wells Fargo charges $35 per overdraft, capped at three per day ($105). Items of $5 or less are not charged, and the fee is waived if the account is overdrawn by $5 or less at end-of-day. Extra Day Grace Period — automatic on personal checking and savings accounts — waives all pending overdraft fees if the available balance is positive by 11:59 p.m. ET the next business day. Wells Fargo eliminated NSF fees and overdraft protection transfer fees in 2022, and its Clear Access Banking is a Bank On–certified checkless account with no overdraft fees. Despite reforms, Wells Fargo's $1.0 billion in 2024 overdraft revenue (per CFA's FFIEC analysis) remains the second-highest of any US bank, behind only Chase.
In December 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that would have required banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets to cap overdraft fees at $5, set the fee at an amount that covers actual costs, or disclose overdrafts as credit subject to the Truth in Lending Act. The rule was scheduled to take effect October 1, 2025. Congress, acting under the Congressional Review Act, passed S.J.Res. 18 to overturn it: the Senate voted 52–48 in March 2025, the House voted 217–211 on April 9, 2025, and President Trump signed the resolution into law on May 9, 2025, as P.L. 119-10. Because a CRA joint resolution was enacted, the CFPB is prohibited from issuing "substantially similar" rules without subsequent legislative authorization. The CFPB's December 2024 final rule announcement had estimated the rule would deliver up to $5 billion in fees per year back to 23 million households, averaging $225 per household annually.
In February 2025, President Trump removed CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and installed Russell Vought as acting director. The agency halted most enforcement, supervisory examinations, and rulemaking activity. Among the actions paused or dismissed: the CFPB's Zelle fraud case against JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo (filed December 20, 2024; dismissed March 4, 2025) and the case against Capital One alleging $2 billion in unpaid savings interest. The administration sought to eliminate most CFPB staff: American Banker reported in April 2025 that Vought initially planned to cut roughly 1,500 of about 1,700 employees, an ~88% reduction; a federal court intervened, and a later court filing scaled the plan back to roughly 550 employees. The Bureau's stated enforcement priorities are now intentional fraud and consumer harm to servicemembers and veterans.
American Banker reported that JPMorgan Chase's overdraft fee income rose 7.66% year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2025, an increase of about $58 million to $815 million. Citizens Financial collected approximately $90.7 million over the same nine-month period, roughly $13.1 million more year over year — a 16.9% increase. Both banks stated they had made no overdraft policy changes during the year; the increase reflects transaction volumes returning toward pre-reform levels rather than fee hikes. US consumers paid $12.1 billion in overdraft and NSF fees in 2024 — substantially higher than earlier figures after the network incorporated newly available NCUA credit-union data, which showed credit unions account for roughly 45% of total overdraft and NSF fee revenue. This is the first sustained reversal since the post-pandemic decline, when CFPB data showed overdraft and NSF revenue at banks with more than $1 billion in assets falling from $11.96 billion in 2019 to $5.83 billion in 2023 — a decrease of 51%.
Overdraft policy is one of several criteria that determine which bank account fits a household. How heavily to weight it depends on three questions.
How often do you currently overdraft? This is the question that determines everything else. For consumers who rarely overdraw their accounts, overdraft policy may have little practical impact relative to factors like ATM network access, branch proximity, APY on savings, monthly maintenance fees, fee-waiver thresholds, and bill-pay reliability. But for someone paying multiple overdraft fees each year, overdraft policy itself can become economically significant — to the point that switching to a no-overdraft-fee bank may justify itself on overdraft savings alone.
How do daily caps and grace periods fit your pattern? Single-incident overdrafters benefit most from buffers and grace periods — Santander's $100 threshold, Chase's and US Bank's $50 buffers, Huntington's 24-Hour Grace. Customers who incur multiple same-day overdrafts — typically when a deposit fails to land before several scheduled payments clear — benefit most from low daily caps; PNC's and Navy Federal's one-per-day caps are the lowest, while Citizens' five-per-day cap is the highest among large banks. For either pattern, Categories 1 and 2 dominate Category 3.
Ten banks — including Capital One, Citibank, Ally, Discover, SoFi, Chime, Varo, EverBank, Alliant Credit Union, and Truist (on its One Checking account) — charge $0. Among banks that still charge a per-item overdraft fee, Bank of America's $10 fee is the lowest, followed by BMO, Huntington, and Santander at $15 and KeyBank and Navy Federal at $20.
At least ten consumer-facing banks and fintechs profiled here charge no overdraft fees on their primary checking products: Ally, Alliant Credit Union, Capital One, Chime (via SpotMe), Citibank, Discover, EverBank, SoFi, Truist (One Checking, with a $100 Balance Buffer), and Varo. Several traditional banks also offer no-overdraft-fee subaccounts that are Bank On–certified, including Chase Secure Banking, Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking, PNC Simple Checking, and US Bank Safe Debit.
Bankrate's most recent (2025) Checking Account and ATM Fee Study, published in September 2025, found an average overdraft fee of $26.77 — down 1% from $27.08 the prior year and well below the 2021 peak of $33.58. About 94%5 of accounts surveyed still charge some form of overdraft fee. The average NSF fee fell to a record-low $16.82.
Most banks will waive a first overdraft fee as a one-time courtesy if you call and ask. Several build automatic relief into their products: Citizens Peace of Mind, Wells Fargo's Extra Day Grace, Chase Overdraft Assist, PNC Low Cash Mode, US Bank Overdraft Fee Forgiven, Huntington 24-Hour Grace, TD's Grace, and Fifth Third's Extra Time all waive or rebate the fee if you bring the balance positive within a stated window — typically by late the next business day. Outside these programs, waivers are at the bank's discretion.
The Financial Health Network's revised 2025 estimate puts total US consumer payment of overdraft and NSF fees at $12.1 billion in 2024. Of that, banks with more than $1 billion in assets reported $5.83 billion to the CFPB in 2023, down 51% from $11.96 billion in 2019. JPMorgan Chase ($1.028 billion) and Wells Fargo ($1.0 billion) together accounted for roughly 42% of bank overdraft revenue at the ten largest charging institutions in 2024, per CFA's FFIEC analysis. Credit unions, only recently reported separately, account for roughly 45% of the national total.
None of the largest US banks have publicly rolled back the 2022–2023 reforms, but several have seen revenue rise — American Banker's Q3 2025 data show JPMorgan Chase up 7.66% and Citizens up 16.9% year-over-year, both attributed to transaction-volume normalization rather than policy change. The 2025 reversal of the CFPB's $5 cap removed the regulatory pressure that had driven voluntary reform between 2021 and 2023. The American Bankers Association, which backed the reversal, argued the rule would have reduced access to overdraft credit; consumer groups countered that overturning it would cost affected households an average of $225 a year, citing the CFPB's own December 2024 estimate.
The voluntary overdraft fee reductions of 2021–2023, which the CFPB credited with cutting bank overdraft revenue roughly in half, were always contingent. They were driven by competitive pressure from no-fee fintechs, by reputational pressure following CFPB enforcement actions, and by the prospect of regulatory caps. With the $5 cap rescinded under the Congressional Review Act and the agency's enforcement footprint sharply reduced, two of those three pressures are gone. The competitive pressure remains — Capital One, Ally, Citi, Chime, and Truist are not changing course — but the revenue uptick at major banks suggests the divergence among the three categories is now stable rather than narrowing. For the foreseeable future, the bank a household uses, not the existence of overdraft fees in general, will be the largest determinant of whether overdrafts are a $0 inconvenience or a $380-a-year tax.
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