WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, Capital One, America’s sixth-largest retail bank, announced a complete end to all overdraft fees and non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees (aka bounced check fees) for its consumer banking customers. It is the only bank among the ten largest to take this step.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun issued the following statement:
The people who are most frequently charged overdraft are the people who can least afford it. This financial burden falls disproportionately on low-income and Black and Latino Americans. The high cost of repeat overdraft fees is a leading cause of people being pushed out of the banking system.
Capital One’s decision to eliminate all overdraft fees is a groundbreaking step toward financial fairness. Families living paycheck-to-paycheck who bank with Capital One will sleep easier knowing they will not be hit with fees if they inadvertently overdraw their account.
We encourage all financial institutions to stop charging overdraft fees. We also urge federal financial regulators – the Consumer Bureau, OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve Board, and NCUA – to establish long-overdue rules to protect consumers from harmful overdraft practices.
Additional Background
CRL Report "Overdraft Fees: Banks Must Stop Gouging Consumers During the COVID-19 Crisis"
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Press Contact: matthew.kravitz@responsiblelending.org