Overdraft Protection Act of 2021

Overdraft Protection Act of 2021

This bill prohibits a financial institution from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts in connection with overdraft coverage.

Each financial institution that offers overdraft coverage for accounts must disclose overdraft coverage fees. It must also disclose that

• the consumer's transaction may be declined if there are insufficient funds in the related account, and
• the consumer will not be charged a fee if such transaction is declined.

A financial institution must provide certain other disclosures regarding its overdraft protection program, including prompt notification of the account's overdraft status.

The bill limits the number of overdraft fees a consumer may be charged each month and year, and provides that such fees must be reasonable.

The bill prohibits an overdraft coverage fee if the overdraft results solely from a debit hold amount that exceeds the actual dollar amount of the transaction.

The bill also prohibits a financial institution from

• charging a non-sufficient fund fee for any automated teller machine or debit card transaction, or
• reporting negative information regarding consumer use of overdraft coverage to any consumer reporting agency when the overdraft amounts and coverage fees are paid under the terms of an overdraft coverage program.