Overdraft Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: New CFPB Protection Will Curb Big-Bank Overdraft Fees, Save Households Billions Annually

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized new protections against overdraft fee abuses at the largest financial institutions, closing a decades-old loophole that allowed big banks to gouge their customers for an inexpensive service. The CFPB’s overdraft fee rule will reduce most overdraft fees from $35 per transaction down to $5, saving households in the United States $5 billion annually.

Congressional Testimony: Elyse Hicks, AFR’s Consumer Policy Counsel, Testifies Before the House Financial Services Committee

AFR’s Consumer Policy Counsel Elyse Hicks testified at today’s hearing in the House Financial Services Committee examining overdraft fees.

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of the Overdraft Protection Act of 2021

AFR led a letter to the House Financial Services Committee in support of Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s Overdraft Protection Act of 2021.

News Release: CFPB Overdraft Study is a Start but New Regulations Needed

We appreciate the work of the CFPB on drawing attention to the harms of overdraft fees, which take billions of dollars a year out of the pockets of mostly low- and moderate-income households to pad the bottom lines of the country’s big and small banks. And among those households, Black and Latinx households were also far more likely to incur overdrafts. We urge the CFPB to use all the tools that Congress gave it to protect consumers from abuses, including drafting tough new regulations.

Letters to Regulators: Letter to NCUA Opposing Proposed Change to Overdraft Policy

AFR Ed Fund joined our colleagues to send a letter opposing the National Credit Union Administration’s proposal to permit federal credit unions to leave negative account balances open for longer than the current limit of 45 days without any limits on overdrafts, overdraft fees, or NSF fees that can be assessed during this period. This proposal fails to consider the substantial risks it poses on credit union members who are facing economic challenges during the pandemic by exposing them to additional fees that only compound their financial distress.

Letter to Regulators: AFR Ed Fund and Demand Progress Ed Fund urge the Federal Reserve Board to enact strong consumer protections into their FedNow system

The development of a real-time, ubiquitous payment system is an especially complex, expensive undertaking. Because of the scale of the endeavor, and its potential to impact the American public as a whole, we firmly believe the Board is the appropriate entity to establish a universal 21st century payments system.

Joint Letter: Letter to Federal Reserve Emphasizing Need for Strong Consumer Protections in Real Time Payment Systems

Coalition letter urging the Federal Reserve to build in strong consumer protections into the design of its new real-time payment system

nearly empty wallet - Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Letter to Congress: Joint Letter in Support of the Overdraft Protection Act of 2019

On September 9, 2019, 34 organizations sent a letter in support of the Overdraft Protection Act of 2019.

Joint Letter: Letter to CFPB on Overdraft Rule Review

AFREF and our partners sent a letter to the CFPB urging it not to weaken the current protections in the overdraft rule.

Joint Letter: Consumer Groups Applaud CFPB Review of Overdraft Fees, Oppose Senate Move Against Forced Arbitration Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s review of unfair and abusive overdraft practices is complemented by its recent efforts to limit the use of forced arbitration, said five consumer groups in a joint letter sent today to Director Richard Cordray. U.S. Senate leadership is pushing for a vote this week on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal a CFPB rule that restores consumers’ right to join together in court against banks and lenders.