An insufficient balance can result from several events, such as (1) the payment of checks, electronic funds transfers or other withdrawal requests; (2) payments authorized by you; (3) the return of unpaid items deposited by you; (4) bank service charges; or (5) the deposit of items which, according to the bank’s Funds Availability Policy, are treated as not yet available or finally paid. We are not obligated to pay any item presented for payment if your account does not contain sufficient funds.
As long as you maintain your account in “good standing,” we may approve your overdraft items within your current available Courtesy Pay limit as a non‑contractual courtesy. For Courtesy Pay consideration, your account is in “good standing” if you (1) make sufficient deposits to bring your account to a positive end-of-day balance at least once every 30 calendar days (including the payment of all bank fees and charges); (2) avoid excessive overdrafts suggesting the use of Courtesy Pay as a continuing line of credit; and (3) there are no legal orders, levies or liens against your account.
In the normal course of business, we generally pay ATM and debit transactions and The Merrimack checks presented directly for payment at The Merrimack first, followed by checks in ascending serial number order; other items without a serial number will post to your account beginning with the lowest dollar amount. We reserve the right to change the order of payment without notice to you if we suspect fraud or possible illegal activity affecting your account. Also, please be aware that the order of item payment may create multiple overdraft items during a single banking day for which you will be charged our overdraft item fee of up to $32.50 for each overdraft item paid.
You may opt out of Courtesy Pay at any time, but you are responsible for any overdrawn balances at the time of opting out. Normally, we will not approve an overdraft for you in excess of the predetermined amount assigned to your account type. So as not to exceed your limit, please note that the amount of the overdraft plus the bank’s overdraft item fee of up to $32.50 per item will be deducted from the overdraft limit.
We may refuse to pay an overdraft item at any time even if we have previously paid overdrafts for you. For example, we typically do not pay overdraft items if your account is not in good standing as defined above, or if based upon our review of your account management, we determine that you have too many overdrafts or are using Courtesy Pay excessively or seem to be using Courtesy Pay as a regular line of credit. You will be charged a returned item fee of up to $32.50 for each item returned.
You will be promptly notified by mail of any overdraft items paid or returned; however, we have no obligation to notify you before we pay or return any item. The amount of any overdraft including our overdraft item fee of up to $32.50 and/or a returned item fee of up to $32.50 that you owe us shall be due and payable upon demand, but if no demand is made, no later than 30 calendar days after the creation of the overdraft. If there is an overdraft on an account with more than one owner on the signature card, each owner and agent, if applicable, shall be jointly and severally liable for all overdrafts inclusive of fees.
Courtesy Pay should not be viewed as an encouragement to overdraw your account. To avoid fees, we encourage you to keep track of your account balance by entering all items in your check register, reconcile your account monthly, and manage your finances responsibly. If you would like to have this service removed from your account, please call 800.541.0006.
Please note that your Courtesy Pay limit may be available for each item paid under the limit created by checks and other transactions made at the teller window, ATM, through a POS transaction, Online Banking, Mobile Banking and Phone Banking. Also at your request, we may authorize and pay ATM transfers or withdrawals and everyday debit card purchases using your limit. The limit will not be included in the balance provided during an inquiry.
Limitations: Courtesy Pay is a courtesy that is available to individually/jointly owned accounts in good standing for personal or household use. Merrimack County Savings Bank reserves the right to limit participation to one account per household and to suspend, revoke, or discontinue this service without prior notice. Unless we advise you differently or you request this service be removed from your account, your limit will be made available to cover overdrafts again one business day after you bring your account to a positive end-of-day balance.