American Consumers Pay a $15 Billion in Overdraft Fees Annually

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants the U.S. consumer “to know before you owe” banks overdraft fees. So how much do consumers owe? Try $15 billion, which according to the Bureau’s report last week is the amount U.S. consumers paid in overdraft fees in 2016.

Although regulations require banks to get the consent of a costumer before charging an overdraft fee, the amount Americans pay in overdraft is still staggering.

Not only is paying overdraft bad enough, but the report found that people who frequently overdraw their checking accounts, on average pay about $450 annually in fees to their banks for opting in to debit card and ATM overdraft coverage. Most of the frequent overdrafters “are financially vulnerable, with lower daily balances and lower credit scores than people who do not overdraft as often,” the report said.

A single overdraft typically costs $34 per transaction.

$15 billion is about 2% higher than consumers paid for overdraft coverage in 2015, according to the report.

In 2010, federal regulations were established for financial institutions to obtain a consumer’s consent in before charging an overdraft fee on debit card transactions as well as ATM withdrawals. A consumer that doesn’t opt-in for the overdraft option will typically have their debit card or ATM transaction declined.

Last week, the CFPB released its “Know Before You Owe” initiative to raise consumer awareness on overdraft fees matters. It is currently testing four prototypes. Each prototype is a simple, one-page design that makes it easier for a customer to understand the costs and risks of opting in to overdraft coverage.

Review the full report here.