If you bank at Wells Fargo and overdraw your checking account by $6 buying coffee, you’ll pay a $35 fee for the privilege. That was supposed to change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule in December 2024 that would have capped overdraft charges at the nation’s largest banks at as little as $5. But Congress used the Congressional Review Act to block it, and President Trump signed the repeal into law on May 9, 2025, as Public Law 119-10. The legal mechanism behind the CRA doesn’t just undo the rule. It bars the CFPB from issuing anything substantially similar unless Congress passes new legislation first.
That leaves overdraft pricing entirely in the hands of individual banks. Some charge $36 per transaction. Others charge nothing. The gap between the best and worst options for consumers has never been wider, and knowing where your bank falls can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
What the CFPB rule would have done
The CFPB’s final overdraft rule targeted banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets. It would have reclassified overdraft coverage as a form of lending, pulling it under the Truth in Lending Act’s disclosure and pricing requirements. Covered institutions would have faced three choices: charge a fee reflecting the bank’s actual cost of providing the overdraft, charge a flat $5, or comply with the same lending rules that govern credit cards.
The bureau estimated the rule would have saved consumers roughly $5 billion annually, according to the cost-benefit analysis published in the final rule’s preamble. Consumer advocates had argued for years that overdraft programs functioned like short-term loans but operated outside the disclosure framework that applies to credit cards and payday lending. The CFPB’s own research found that a small share of account holders, often those with the lowest balances, generated the vast majority of overdraft fee revenue.
How Congress blocked it
The Senate passed its joint resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 18) on March 27, 2025, by a vote of 52 to 48. The House followed on April 9, voting 217 to 211. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to overturn recently finalized federal regulations with simple majorities in both chambers, and it includes a clause that prevents the originating agency from reissuing a rule in “substantially the same form.”
That clause carries real weight. A Congressional Research Service analysis concluded that the CRA’s language effectively bars the CFPB from pursuing a similar overdraft fee cap aimed at the same category of large banks without new authorizing legislation from Congress. Administrative law scholars have debated exactly how broadly “substantially the same” should be read, but the practical effect is clear: the most direct federal path to capping overdraft fees is closed.
The CFPB still holds authority to supervise banks and bring enforcement actions against practices it considers unfair, deceptive, or abusive. But a binding, cost-based fee cap for large institutions is off the table.
What the biggest banks are charging for overdrafts right now
Without a federal cap, overdraft fees at major banks range from $0 to $36 per transaction. The following figures are drawn from each bank’s most recently published fee schedule as of early 2026. Individual account types may carry different terms, so checking your specific account agreement is worth the two minutes it takes.
- JPMorgan Chase: $34 per overdraft. Chase provides a $50 cushion before fees apply and caps charges at three per business day.
- Wells Fargo: $35 per overdraft. Wells Fargo offers a grace period until midnight the next business day to cover the shortfall and avoid the charge.
- Bank of America: $10 per overdraft. BofA cut its fee from $35 in May 2022 and eliminated non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees. It also provides a one-business-day grace period.
- Citibank: $0. Citi eliminated overdraft fees entirely in 2022, opting instead to decline transactions that would overdraw an account.
- U.S. Bank: $36 per overdraft, though the bank offers a $50 “safe debit buffer” that lets small overdrafts pass without a charge.
- PNC: $36 per overdraft. PNC’s “Low Cash Mode,” available through its virtual wallet accounts, gives customers up to 24 extra hours to bring their balance positive before a fee hits.
- Truist: $36 per overdraft, with a $50 negative balance cushion.
- Capital One: $0. Capital One eliminated all overdraft and NSF fees in early 2022.
- TD Bank: $35 per overdraft, with a $50 negative balance threshold before fees apply.
- Ally Bank: $0. Ally dropped overdraft fees in June 2021.
Why some banks dropped fees without being forced to
Every bank on the $0 list made its decision before the CFPB rule was even finalized. Capital One, Citibank, and Ally all announced fee eliminations in 2021 and 2022, during a stretch of intense public scrutiny over bank fee practices. The competitive logic was straightforward: attract new depositors and deepen customer relationships, betting that account growth and engagement would more than offset lost fee revenue.
Bank of America’s cut to $10 followed a similar calculation. The bank framed the reduction as part of a broader push to make everyday banking more accessible.
Whether these voluntary changes hold without regulatory pressure behind them is an open question. None of these banks have reversed course so far, and the reputational cost of reinstating a fee they publicly eliminated would be significant. But there is no legal barrier stopping them.
How to get an overdraft fee waived or avoid it entirely
Even at banks still charging $35 or more per overdraft, you have more leverage and more tools than most people realize.
Call and ask for a reversal. This remains the simplest and most underused tactic. If you’ve been charged an overdraft fee and it’s your first in a while, call your bank’s customer service line and request a courtesy reversal. Banks grant these regularly, especially for customers with otherwise clean account histories. Be direct, be polite, and mention how long you’ve been a customer.
Set up low-balance alerts. Every major bank offers text or email notifications when your checking balance drops below a threshold you choose. Setting an alert at $100 or $50 gives you a window to transfer money or hold off on a purchase before your account goes negative.
Link a savings account as a backup. Most banks let you connect a savings account as an overdraft funding source. If your checking balance drops below zero, the bank pulls from savings automatically. The transfer fee, where one still exists, is typically $10 to $12, far less than a $35 overdraft charge. Chase and Bank of America have eliminated the transfer fee entirely.
Use your bank’s grace period. Several banks now offer a window, usually until the end of the next business day, to deposit funds and avoid the fee altogether. Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America all provide some version of this. The clock starts at different times depending on the institution, so check your bank’s specific terms.
Opt out of overdraft coverage on debit transactions. Under federal rules that predate the CFPB’s now-defunct cap, banks must get your affirmative consent before charging overdraft fees on one-time debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals. If you opt out, those transactions are simply declined when your balance is insufficient. You won’t complete the purchase, but you won’t pay $35 for it either. This protection does not cover checks or recurring electronic payments, which can still trigger overdraft charges regardless of your opt-in status.
Consider fintech alternatives. Apps like Chime, Dave, and Earnin offer small-dollar cash advances or overdraft-style buffers with no traditional overdraft fee. Chime’s SpotMe feature, for example, covers debit card purchases that exceed your balance by up to $200 with no fee, depending on your account history. These aren’t traditional banks, and they come with their own limitations, but for people who overdraft frequently, they can eliminate the problem at its source.
Switch banks entirely. If your bank charges $35 per overdraft and you’re getting hit multiple times a year, moving to a bank or credit union with no overdraft fees could save you hundreds of dollars annually. Capital One, Citibank, Ally, and many credit unions have eliminated the charge. Online account opening takes minutes, and most banks will help you redirect your direct deposit during the transition.
Where overdraft regulation goes from here
The CRA repeal shut down the most direct federal route to capping overdraft fees, but it didn’t end the political fight. Several lawmakers who voted against the repeal have introduced new legislation aimed at overdraft pricing, though no bill has gained traction in committee as of June 2026.
State legislatures represent another possible front. New York, California, and Oregon have all seen overdraft-related bills introduced in their current sessions, but none has been signed into law. The CFPB retains its enforcement authority and could still target specific bank practices it considers unfair or abusive on a case-by-case basis, though that approach is slower and narrower than a blanket rule.
For now, the overdraft landscape is shaped by individual bank decisions, competitive pressure, and whatever leverage consumers exercise with their own accounts. The banks that charge nothing aren’t doing it out of generosity. They’re doing it because enough customers made clear they’d leave over a $35 fee. That same pressure is the most reliable tool you have: know what your bank charges, use every available option to avoid the fee, and if your bank won’t budge, take your money somewhere that will.
Vince Coyner is a serial entrepreneur with an MBA from Florida State. Business, finance and entrepreneurship have never been far from his mind, from starting a financial education program for middle and high school students twenty years ago to writing about American business titans more recently. Beyond business he writes about politics, culture and history.
