HARRISBURG, Penn.–Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union said that effective March 1 it is removing non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees for all members. In addition, PSECU said its courtesy pay fee will be cut by 50% to $15 per transaction, from $30.
The fee for using the credit union's Courtesy Pay service will see a 50% reduction, lowering from $30 to $15.
PSECU added the changes complement its “existing commitment” to no- or low-fee services, such as its no-fee Overdraft Protection Transfer Service.
"We're constantly working to identify ways to reduce financial pain points and offer the best value possible for our members," said President and CEO George Rudolph. "Reworking our fee structure for Non-Sufficient Funds and Courtesy Pay is just one example of that. Continuing to offer our no-fee Overdraft Protection Transfer Service is another."
In instances where members have a checking share without Overdraft Protection Transfer Service or a designated account does not have sufficient available funds, the $8-billion PSECU offers discretionary Courtesy Pay through which members who are automatically enrolled in the service are provided a $500 Courtesy Pay limit on eligible transactions.
‘First Line of Defense’
If all other options are exhausted, PSECU said the check (including bill payer check) or ACH transaction will be returned unpaid. In the past, this would have resulted in a $30 NSF fee. Now, however, no fee will be assessed, “furthering the credit union's goal of offering no- or low-fee services to its membership,” PSECU stated.
"The first line of defense our members have to avoid overdraft-related fees is our no-fee Overdraft Protection Transfer Service," said Barb Bowker, PSECU chief member experience officer. "This has been a no-fee service since its inception and provides all members the ability to link another share or Visa credit card to their checking share (excluding specialty account types.) If there are not sufficient available funds in their checking share when a qualifying transaction is processed, funds are transferred from the linked account at no cost to the member."
Other FIs Cutting NSF Fees
As CUToday.info has extensively reported, PSECU joins a growing list of primarily large credit unions and banks that have announced the elimination of or reduction in NSF fees.
In addition, one recent analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts has found that consumers could save more than $2 billion a year as a result of five of the country’s largest banks—Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Truist, and Regions Bank—eliminating nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees and making major changes to their overdraft programs.
Give Us Less Than 1 Minute & We’ll Give You Good News!
The ongoing popularity of CUToday.info’s daily Fresh Today newsletter has led to a need to move to a new server in order to provide improved service to our readers. In order to continue to receive the daily email, you must register by March 7. To register, just click here. The daily Fresh Today news headlines email remains FREE! The new service is being launched as part of a partnership with ResponseGenius.