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Overdraft options, fees and tools

Learn about what you can do to help manage your account.

Manage overdraft settings

Set up account alerts

Find out how we handle overdrafts

Learn about the settings you can use on your account.

USAA Safety Net our Standard Overdraft option

This setting is automatic for eligible‍ ‍ See note 1 checking accounts, but you can change it at anytime. Changes may take up to two business days to process.

With Standard Overdraft, we may choose to cover transactions even when your available balance is too low. This could save you from merchant fees for things like late payments and returned checks, but may cause an overdraft fee.

For more info, read our Depository Agreement and Disclosures.

Features of USAA Safety Net

USAA Overdraft Fee Cushion

When we process transactions at the end of the business day, we won't charge a fee if you overdraw your account by $100 or less. And we won't charge for transactions of $5 or less.

USAA Overdraft Fee Refund Window

We'll refund overdraft fees if you bring your available balance to at least negative $100 by the end of the next business day. This balance doesn't include the overdraft fee. To learn more, read our overdraft FAQ.

Our Auto-Decline setting

With this setting, we generally return or decline transactions if your available balance is too low. You won't get an overdraft fee, but the merchant or biller might still charge you fees.

You can change your overdraft setting to Auto-Decline anytime. It may take up to 2 business days to process.

Accounts automatically set to Auto-Decline

These accounts aren't eligible for Standard Overdraft.

  • USAA Youth Spending accounts
  • Savings accounts
  • Fiduciary accounts, like accounts opened for an estate, formal trusts, guardianships and conservatorships
  • Accounts enrolled in our overdraft protection service that use a credit card for protection

Set up a protecting account with Overdraft Protection.

This optional service moves money from another account to help cover overdrafts in a checking or savings account. Both accounts must be eligible for the service to work.

You can make the protecting account a USAA Bank checking, savings or credit card account.

There are no fees unless you use a credit card as the protecting account.‍ ‍ See note 2

Set up Overdraft Protection

Explore banking products

Learn how our overdraft settings work.

Video player
How overdraft fees work

Video Duration: 2 minutes 16 seconds

USAA Safety Net the Standard Overdraft setting: Elapsed time 0 minutes 0 seconds [00:00]

Have you ever forgotten about a scheduled bill or a check that you wrote? It happens.

USAA Safety Net is our standard overdraft setting that can allow transactions like your bills, checks and certain electronic payments like your mortgage payments to be paid even when you don't have enough available balance to cover them. This could save you from fees from merchants related to things like late payments and returned checks.

A $29 overdraft fee could apply for each item that causes an overdraft. And you could be charged this fee one time per day, per account.

But we have tools and settings to help you avoid those fees or get them refunded.

USAA Overdraft Fee Cushion: Elapsed time 0 minutes 37 seconds [00:37]

We won't charge an overdraft fee if your available balance is overdrawn by $100 or less after all transactions have processed at the end of the business day. We also won't charge you an overdraft fee for transactions that are $5 or less. We call this our Overdraft Fee Cushion.

USAA Overdraft Fee Refund Window: Elapsed time 0 minutes 54 seconds [00:54]

With Overdraft Fee Refund Window, we provide a refund of an overdraft fee charged to your account if we receive a qualifying deposit to the account within a window of time after the overdraft item posting date.

Description of visual information: [The following types of transactions may be eligible for coverage under our standard overdraft setting: checks, ACH transactions and recurring debit card transactions.

Certain online and mobile banking services, such as USAA Pay Bills and Zelle®, are governed by separate terms and conditions which are provided to you at the time you enroll. These terms and conditions may include information on how the Overdraft Policy applies to the service.] End of description.

Here's an example of how it works.

A $300 utility bill comes in for payment on a Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, you check your balance on the mobile app and notice your account is overdrawn by $200. If you make a qualifying deposit to bring your available balance to at least negative $100 before the deposit cutoff time on Wednesday, we'll refund any applicable overdraft fee.

Description of visual information: [We'll provide a refund of an overdraft fee charged to your account if we receive a qualifying deposit to your account before the applicable deposit cutoff time on the business day following the posting of the item causing the overdraft. The deposit cutoff time is generally 9 p.m. Central Time, but earlier cutoff times may apply: 5 p.m. Central Time for USAA Federal Savings Bank teller deposits and 7 p.m. Central Time for USAA ATMs that accept deposits (unless a different time is posted on the ATM). See the Depository Agreement & Disclosures for details.] End of description.

And, if you get text or email messages from USAA, you'll receive an alert letting you know your account is overdrawn and that you can take action to get a refund if an overdraft fee applies.

Auto-decline setting: Elapsed time 1 minute 50 seconds [01:50]

If you don't want to risk getting an overdraft fee, you may want to consider our auto-decline setting.

With this setting, we will decline or return most payments if you don't have enough available balance to cover them, so you'll never receive an overdraft fee. You can switch to the auto-decline setting from your Account Summary page anytime.

We know life is full of surprises and that you might spend more than you have in your account. USAA has the tools and settings to help.

Description of visual information: [Bank products provided by USAA Federal Savings Bank, Member FDIC.] End of description.

End: Elapsed time 2 minutes 16 seconds [02:16]

Manage the overdraft settings and alerts for your account.

Change your overdraft setting anytime in your account summary. You can also get text or email alerts when you have a low or overdrawn balance.

Manage overdraft settings

Set up account alerts

Overdraft options and fees FAQ

With a linked checking or savings account:

If money is available in your linked USAA Bank checking or savings account at the end of the business day, we'll make a transfer to cover the transactions.

If there isn't enough money, you'll have until the end of the next business day to bring your account balance to at least negative $100, not counting overdraft fees. Then, we'll refund the fees.

With a linked credit card:

If you link a USAA Bank credit card as your protecting account, we'll set your checking account to Auto-Decline.

So if you don't have enough available credit on your credit card, we may return or decline transactions.

For details, review the Depository Agreement and Disclosures Opens in a New Window.

We'll refund overdraft fees if you make a deposit to your account that meets these requirements:

Timing: We need to receive the deposit before the cutoff time on the business day after the overdraft transaction posts.

For example, if an overdraft item posts on Monday, make a deposit by these cutoff times on Tuesday:

  • 5 p.m. CT for USAA Bank teller deposits. The lobby and drive-thru may have different cut-off times.
  • 7 p.m. CT for USAA Bank ATMs that accept deposits, unless a different time is posted on the ATM
  • 9 p.m. CT for most other deposits

Amount: The deposit needs to bring your account's available balance to at least negative $100, not counting overdraft fees.

Keep in mind, transactions might not show on your account until after processing at the end of the business day. Make sure to keep track of checks you write or payments you authorize.

Availability: The money needs to be available to use. It can't be on hold. This includes holds on deposits or other types of holds.

Example: You deposit a $500 check to your account but there's a $400 hold on the deposit. This means only $100 is available to try to get an overdraft fee refund through the USAA Overdraft Fee Refund Window.

For more information, review the USAA Overdraft Fee Refund Window section of the Depository Agreement and Disclosures.

Your available balance is the amount of money in your account that you can use right away to make payments or withdrawals.

This might not include:

  • Funds that are on hold.
  • Checks you wrote that haven't processed.
  • Pending deposits, transfers or refunds.
  • Pending withdrawals or payments.

You can find your available balance in your account summary on usaa.com and the USAA Mobile App.

For more information on available balance, read the Depository Agreement and Disclosures.

  • Tellers at the branch in San Antonio, TX: 5 p.m. CT, unless USAA Bank closes before 5 p.m.
  • USAA Bank ATM: 7 p.m. CT, unless a different time is posted on the ATM or displayed on the ATM screen
  • Zelle®: Transfers received by 9 p.m. CT‍ ‍ See note 3
  • Mail: The business day USAA Bank receives a deposit in its San Antonio, Texas office
  • USAA Bank deposit box: The business day USAA Bank receives a deposit in its San Antonio office, unless a different time is posted at the deposit box
  • Online and mobile transfers from USAA Bank accounts: 9 p.m. CT
  • Telephone transfers from USAA Bank accounts: 9 p.m. CT
  • USAA Deposit@Mobile® and other USAA remote check deposit services: 9 p.m. CT‍ ‍ See note 4
View all overdraft FAQ

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Related footnotes:

  1. USAA Safety Net means Standard Overdraft and is automatic with eligible USAA Classic Checking accounts. With USAA Safety Net, when we determine that your USAA Classic Checking account’s available balance isn’t enough to pay certain items, such as checks, ACH transactions, and recurring debit card transactions, we may elect to pay the item anyway, at our discretion, causing an overdraft. This is not guaranteed and not available for all transaction types. We may not pay overdraft items in some cases including, for example, for new accounts or accounts overdrawn for an extended period. If your account’s balance is overdrawn by more than $100 after all transactions have processed at the end of the business day, then you may be subject to one $29 overdraft fee per day, per account on eligible transactions of more than $5. If we overdraw your account to pay an item, you agree to immediately make a deposit into your account to return it to a positive balance of at least zero. For information on Standard Overdraft and our Overdraft Fee Refund Window, see the USAA Federal Savings Bank Depository Agreement & Disclosures. Other items including everyday (one-time) debit card purchases, ATM withdrawals, and Zelle® transactions, are declined when we determine that your account’s available balance isn’t enough to authorize the item. Overdraft fees do not apply to items that we decline. You can change your overdraft setting to Auto-Decline or set up Overdraft Protection by linking another eligible checking or savings account at usaa.com, on the USAA Mobile App, or by calling us.

  2. We do not charge a fee to your protected account for the credit card cash advance. However, the cash advance is subject to the terms, conditions, fees and finance charges disclosed in your credit card agreement for cash advance transactions.

  3. Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.

  4. Eligibility for USAA Deposit@Mobile® will be based on your account history with USAA Federal Savings Bank. Deposits may not be available for immediate withdrawal. USAA's Deposit@Mobile® and related Deposit@Home® includes innovative features that are protected by multiple patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A listing of issued Patents, intending to serve as notice under 35 U.S.C. § 287(a), may be found at United States Patents.

Related footnotes:

  1. "USAA Bank" means USAA Federal Savings Bank.

  2. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates.

    USAA Federal Savings Bank offers deposit, credit card, consumer lending, mortgage, and other banking products and services. USAA Federal Savings Bank is a Member of FDIC. Credit card, mortgage and other lending products not FDIC-insured.

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