Overdraft fees with Meriwest checking accounts can add up quickly because there is no daily limit to the fees.

Like many other financial institutions, Meriwest Credit Union offers standard overdraft protection and several advanced overdraft protection plans.

Meriwest’s standard overdraft protection is called Courtesy Pay Overdraft Privilege. Meriwest authorizes and pays overdrafts for checks and other transactions made using the checking account number and automatic bill payments.

Courtesy Pay Overdraft Privilege overdraft protection will not authorize or pay overdrafts for ATM transactions or everyday debit card transactions unless the account holder contacts Meriwest’s operational support and explicitly authorizes the credit union to do so.

Interestingly, Meriwest’s other overdraft protections include links to either a savings account or line of credit, which its website claims “may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices.”

Meriwest Checking Account Overdraft Fees Add Up

Each time the credit union covers an overdraft, Meriwest charges the account holder $35. Overdraft fees with Meriwest checking accounts have no limit to the number that can be assessed per day. Many other financial institutions set a limit, such as two overdraft fees per day.

According to Pew Charitable Trusts, excessive overdraft fees have become a common practice, as financial institutions more than doubled their revenue from fees and service charges between 1984 and 2015.

Consumers are likely to view excessive overdraft fees as a hardship, but these same fees are seen by banks as a way to diversify their sources of revenue. Banks and credit unions felt pressured to find a new source of income as interest rates remained low for many years.

Nick Bourke, director of Pew’s consumer finance project, was interviewed by NBC News late last year regarding overdraft fees such as those affecting Meriwest checking accounts that become overdrawn.

“Too many banks, both large and small, charge high and multiple fees and engage in practices that are unfair,” Bourke told NBC News.

“Our research shows that 40 million people throughout the country paid an overdraft or NSF (nonsufficient funds) fee last yeara and that’s not good for anyone – and most people (68 percent) would rather have their transaction declined than pay that steep overdraft fee,” Bourke explained.

“Income from fees for services has grown considerably over time,” states Pew’s website. “In 1984, fee revenue was small compared with income earned from interest. By 2015, this gap had narrowed substantially.”

Meriwest checking accounts’ overdraft fees are big business, especially with no limit on the number of fees that can be incurred per day.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports that of all the ways a transaction can be made, debit cards hold the lowest median value, $24, of financial transactions that lead to overdrafts. The median overdraft fee was $34. The CFPB says that “[s]uch a loan would carry a 17,000 percent annual percentage rate.”

It’s no wonder consumers allow overdraft fees to occur. Clever names such as “courtesy overdraft privilege” and “bounce protection” encourage consumers to believe the overdraft coverage is helpful, even desirable.

If you have experienced excessive overdraft fees with your Meriwest checking account or any other financial institution, you could have a legal claim.

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