Why is overdraft protection an issue customers should concern themselves with?
Each time a bank applies its overdraft protection, it charges a fee, usually $35, no matter how small the purchase amount. If you use your debit card to buy your kids a $15 lunch at McDonalds, and the bank charges you an overdraft fee, that lunch will actually cost you $50. The bank won’t decline the debit transaction, nor will the bank tell you that you have overdrawn your account and is about to turn your $15 lunch into a $50 expense. A weekend’s worth of small transactions can result in hundreds of dollars in bank charges.
