What is Courtesy Pay?

Courtesy pay is a service option we provide to protect our members if they inadvertently overdraw a checking account. In the event that there’s not enough money available in your account to cover a transaction, courtesy pay may cover your transaction for a fee. This prevents the hassle of declined transactions or bounced checks. It also helps avoid costly returned item fees and/or late fees charged by merchants and retailers.

1st United offers two levels of courtesy pay coverage – one for checks, electronic payments and bill payments and an additional level of coverage for ATM and debit card transactions. The first level of coverage is automatically included with your account. Members need to enroll in the second level of coverage for ATM and debit card transactions.

If you prefer to opt out completely from courtesy pay coverage, you can by calling us. If you overdraw your account and items are returned unpaid, you will be charged a fee in accordance with our fee schedule.

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction. If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined. For example, we may return an item presented against insufficient funds if you do not have an overdraft plan in good standing with available funds or credit.

We understand that mistakes happen, that’s why we offer courtesy pay coverage.

There is a $29.00 fee each time an item is paid even though there is an overdraft. We don’t think, however, that you should pay a fee on top of your morning cup of coffee in the event that you accidentally overdraw your account.

As a non-profit financial institution, we want to offer you the most convenient, least expensive option to manage your money. That’s why we’ve adjusted the fee to allow our members a complimentary $5 overdraw amount. That means, if you overdraw your account for an amount of $5 or less, we will cover that amount and won’t charge you a fee. We think that is part of the credit union difference and we hope you agree.

With Courtesy Pay, you can avoid merchant late fees, returned check fees, having your debit card declined when you’re trying to make a purchase, and even potential credit score damage.