American consumers handed over about $11.45 billion in overdraft fees to banks in 2017 which was about $10 million more than 2016's numbers, according to USA Today. Notably, this only includes the most prominent banks with over $1 billion in managed assets and excludes smaller banks and credit unions. Today's legal landscape means that banks are allowed to let a transaction go through even if it would cause an overdraft rather than denying the sale. Additionally, most banks will not post transactions in order of smallest to largest which could reduce the number of fees incurred by debit card users by allowing only the largest purchase to go over the balance rather than several.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
