Debit transactions. (Source: Shutterstock)
Officials from the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Federal Credit Union on Thursday announced the full elimination of its non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees program. Adding to that announcement, officials said the credit union is eyeing a complete overhaul of its entire overdraft protection program and unveiling it later this year.
According to the announcement from Stanford FCU ($3.8 billion in assets, 80,085 members), its NSF fees were dropped on April 1 as way to improve the financial lives of its members.
"Stanford FCU is dedicated to improving the financial lives of our members by offering as much value as possible. Over the past five years we have refunded over $2.3 million in fees to our members," Stanford FCU President/CEO Joan Opp said in a prepared statement.
Opp added, "Our total fee income is only 2% of our income compared to an average 8% of other financial institutions, and the NSF Fee is one of the few fees left to eliminate."
Thursday's statement indicated that Stanford FCU would be revising its overdraft protection program as a further benefit to its members. Details of the overdraft protection program revisions included:
- Members are able to opt-in to the new program for the credit union to cover an insufficient account balance.
- If opted in, the credit union will pay for checking, ACH and debit card purchases if there is a zero or negative balance.
- Transactions under $25 will be paid with no overdraft fee.
- For purchases of $25 or higher, the new program will cover the cost and the member will be charged $25.
- The new program limits overdraft coverage to three transactions.
Officials did not indicate when the new overdraft protection program would go into effect, except to state that it would occur in the upcoming months.
The reduction and/or elimination of overdraft and NSF fees has been announced by more than 20 credit unions over the past 10 months. Most recently, Oregon's sixth largest credit union, Advantis Credit Union, reduced its overdraft and NSF fees from $25 to $10 per occurrence as of March 1.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
