ANTIGO, Wis.–CoVantage Credit Union has become the latest CU to report it will no longer charge overdrafts fees of any kind. The policy went into effect Nov. 1.
CoVantage said it has eliminated all overdraft fees, non-sufficient fund fees, courtesy pay fees and automatic savings transfer fees on their members’ checking accounts. Previously, members whose checking account balance became negative would be charged between $2.00 and $25.00 per occurrence depending on the type of transaction that caused the account to be overdrawn, the credit union reported.
As of Nov. 1, 2021, all members with a CoVantage checking account will “receive the additional benefit of having entirely fee-free checking with no worrisome overdraft fees, and there is no need to apply or request this enhancement,” the credit union said in making the announcement.
According to CoVantage CU’s website, the credit union offers just one type of checking account for all eligible members, “Fee-Free Checking,” that has no minimum balance. It continues to offer an overdraft protection program called “Kwik Cash” for which there is no charge beyond interest on the outstanding balance. On that product the minimum payment is $5 per month, or 3% of the loan balance, whichever is greater.
“We believe removing overdraft and NSF fees will reduce stress and anxiety for members when they carry low balances on their checking account. It will allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money instead of being penalized every time an unfortunate overdraft occurs,” said EVP Brett Lee.
Additional Tools
In addition, CoVantage said it provides members with tools to monitor their accounts, including email alerts when funds are low or certain checks clear the account.
“Because of CoVantage’s financial fortitude and more members placing their trust in us for their loan and deposit accounts, we are able to pass more value back to our member-owners by no longer charging overdraft fees,” said Lee. “As a mission-driven credit union, CoVantage has always taken great pride in having lower fees than the industry averages, and this change will truly make our checking accounts completely free of fees. We are excited to be one of a very small group of financial institutions across the country to eliminate overdraft fees.”
The $2.6-billion CoVantage has more than 135,000 members.
CoVantage’s move follows by less than a week an announcement by Affinity CU in Des Moines, Iowa that it has reduced its overdraft fee to $15 and that it was waiving the fee altogether on small transactions.