Overdraft Services FAQs

What is Chase Overdraft Assist℠ and do I have to enroll?

With Chase Overdraft Assist℠, we won’t charge an Overdraft Fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer).

Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with all Chase checking accounts except Chase First Checking℠, Chase High School Checking℠ or Chase Secure Checking℠. For business accounts, see information on Chase Business Overdraft Services in the Additional Banking Services and Fees for Business Accounts.

How will I be notified of Chase Overdraft Assist and when I need to make a deposit or transfer to avoid overdraft fees?

You can sign up to receive Account Alerts by email, text message and push notification when your account is overdrawn.

This alert will also notify you when your account was overdrawn more than $50 and you need to make a deposit or transfer to avoid an Overdraft Fee.

To sign up for Account Alerts when your account is overdrawn, you’ll need to sign in to your account via chase.com or the Chase Mobile^® app. Once signed in, choose “Profile & settings,” then “Alerts,” then “Choose alerts” in the left-hand menu under the Alerts section. We'll show you the list of available alerts for your account, select “My account is overdrawn” under “Balance and spending” and choose your delivery methods. You'll need to repeat these steps for each account you'd like to sign up for alerts.

You’re responsible for making a deposit or transfer to avoid an Overdraft Fee even if you do not receive a notification alerting you that your account is overdrawn more than $50.

If I overdraw my account, how long do I have to avoid being charged an Overdraft Fee and what are my options for making a deposit or transfers?

If your account balance at the end of the business day is overdrawn by more than $50, then you need to make a deposit or transfer to avoid an Overdraft Fee on the transactions that overdrew your account. You will have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) on the next business day to make a deposit or transfer that brings your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of that business day.

You can deposit or transfer funds via:

• Chase Branch, before it closes: cash deposit, check deposit or transfers from another Chase account
• ATM, before 11 PM ET (8 PM PT): cash deposit, check deposit or transfers from another Chase account
• Chase.com/mobile, received before 11 PM ET (8 PM PT): transfers from another Chase account, Zelle^®, or Chase QuickDeposit ℠
• Non-Chase accounts: Processing times may be longer and transfers from non-Chase accounts may not settle prior to our 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) cutoff

For check deposits, this assumes Chase does not place a hold and the check is not returned.

How much do I need to deposit into my account to avoid an Overdraft Fee?

You need to deposit and transfer enough money to bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day. To calculate your account balance at the end of the business day, we take your previous end of day’s balance and post credits. If there are any deposits not yet available for use or holds (such as a garnishment), these will reduce the account balance used to pay your transactions. Then we subtract any debit transactions presented during our nightly processing.

When you make a deposit or transfer you need to consider any other transactions or purchases, even if they are not shown as pending on your account, that may be presented on the current business day in order to bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less by the end of the business day.

Example: No $34 Overdraft Fees — Overdrawn by more than $50 and you make a deposit to bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day: On Monday, you start the day with $5 in your account. Throughout the day, we receive three $25 checks drawn on your account. During our nightly processing for Monday, we pay these transactions, leaving your end of day account balance overdrawn by $70. To avoid the $34 Overdraft Fee, you make a cash deposit of $30 by 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) on Tuesday, leaving your end of day account balance overdrawn by $40.

Result: A $34 Overdraft Fee was not charged because your account balance is overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day. If you had not made that cash deposit, then your account balance would have remained overdrawn by more than $50 on Tuesday and you would have been charged a $34 Overdraft Fee on the check.

What happens if I cannot make a deposit or transfer to bring my account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day?

If your account balance remains overdrawn by more than $50 at the end of the business day, you may be charged overdraft fees on the previous business day’s transactions that overdrew your account.

If there were additional debit transactions or purchases from the current business day that further overdrew your account, then you will have an additional business day to deposit or transfer funds to avoid overdraft fees on those transactions.

Example: $34 Overdraft Fees are charged on a debit card transaction — You have enrolled in Chase Debit Card Coverage: On Monday, you start the day with $5 in your account. Later that day you make a $100 debit card transaction on groceries. During our nightly processing for Monday, this transaction posts and we pay it, leaving your end of day account balance overdrawn by $95.

On Tuesday, you make a $60 debit card transaction for gasoline. During our nightly processing for Tuesday, this transaction posts and we pay it, leaving your end of day account balance overdrawn by $155 ($100 groceries transaction + $60 gasoline transaction). To avoid the $34 Overdraft Fee on the $60 gasoline transaction from Tuesday, you make a cash deposit of $149 by 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) on Wednesday, leaving your end of day account balance overdrawn by $40.

Result: A $34 Overdraft Fee is charged on the $100 groceries that overdrew your account by more than $50 on Monday. This fee is charged because you didn’t make a deposit or transfer by 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) on Tuesday to bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day.

On Wednesday your account is overdrawn by $189 ($100 groceries transaction + $60 gasoline transaction + $34 Overdraft Fee). However, because you made a $149 cash deposit on Wednesday leaving your account balance overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day, a $34 Overdraft Fee was not charged.

What's an overdraft and what are overdraft fees?

An overdraft occurs when you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a purchase, check or payment. Whether your account has enough money to cover a transaction is determined during our nightly processing. During our nightly processing, we take your previous end of day’s balance and post credits. If there are any deposits not yet available for use or holds (such as a garnishment), these will reduce the account balance used to pay your transactions. Then we subtract any debit transactions presented during our nightly processing.

Based on your account history, the deposits you make and the amount of the transaction, we may cover the overdraft transaction for you and charge a $34 Overdraft Fee. If we don’t cover the transaction and return it unpaid, we won’t charge a fee.

For more information on overdrafts, how we handle them and the fees we charge, read our Standard Overdraft Practice.

What are your overdraft services?

Overdraft Protection is a service that lets you link your Chase savings account to your checking account. If there isn’t enough money in your checking account to cover a purchase, we will use the available funds from your backup account to authorize or pay transactions. The exact amount needed to cover the transaction will be transferred if enough funds are available. To set it up or for more information, go to our Overdraft Protection page.

We also offer Debit Card Coverage so you can choose how we treat everyday debit card transactions, such as for groceries, gasoline or dining out. If you’ve chosen “No” and a transaction causes your account balance to go below zero, it'll be declined and you won’t be charged an Overdraft Fee. If you’ve chosen “Yes,” we may authorize and pay the overdraft transaction and apply our Standard Overdraft Practices. If we authorize and pay this transaction, it'll be based on your account history, the deposits you make and the amount of the transaction. For more information, read about Chase Debit Card Coverage.

Also, if you're looking for an account that can help prevent overdrafts by only letting you spend the money you have available, check out Chase Secure Banking.

What's the difference between Chase Debit Card Coverage and Overdraft Protection?

If you enroll in Chase Debit Card Coverage we will authorize and pay overdrafts for everyday debit card transactions (e.g. groceries, gasoline or dining out) in addition to our Standard Overdraft Practice. An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway.

Just so you know, even if you’re enrolled in Chase Debit Card Coverage, it won’t affect how we treat recurring debit card purchases, such as movie subscriptions or gym memberships. These transactions are covered by our Standard Overdraft Practice.

If you’re enrolled in Overdraft Protection, and you have enough money in your linked Overdraft Protection backup account, we’ll use the available funds in your backup account to cover an overdraft. You can learn more about these services and see examples of how they work by going to the “Chase Overdraft Services” section of our Additional Banking Services and Fees.

Can I withdraw cash at an ATM if I don’t have enough money in my account?

No. If you don't have enough money in your checking account or a Chase savings account that's linked for Overdraft Protection, your ATM transaction will be declined. Cash withdrawals aren't covered by Chase Debit Card Coverage.

Can I get an alert when my balance is low or overdrawn?

Yes, you can sign up to receive Account Alerts by email, text message, or push notification when your balance falls below a limit that you can set — or if it’s already been overdrawn. You can also sign up for alerts to stay up to date on your transactions and payments, learn about our alerts here.