Courtesy Pay

Your checking account has two kinds of balances: the actual balance and the available balance. Both can be checked by reviewing your account online, at an ATM, by phone or at a branch. It is important to understand how the two balances work so that you know how much money is in your account at any given time.

• Your actual balance is the amount of money that is actually in your account at any given time. It reflects transactions that have posted to your account, but not transactions that have been authorized and are pending. While the term “actual” may sound as though the number you see is an up-to-date display of what is in your account that you can spend, that is not always the case. Any purchases, holds, fees, other charges or deposits made on your account that have not yet posted will not appear in your actual balance.

• For example: If you have an actual balance of $50, but you just wrote a check for $40, then your actual balance will still show as $50, but it does not reflect the incoming or pending check transaction, so at this point, your actual balance will still say $50, but you have already spent $40.

• Your available balance is the amount of money in your account that is available to you to use without causing a payment or transaction to be declined. The available balance takes into account things like holds placed on deposits and pending transactions — such as pending debit card purchases — that Westerra has authorized, but that have not yet posted to your account.

• For example: You have an actual balance of $50 and an available balance of $50. If you were to use your debit card at a restaurant to buy lunch for $20, then that merchant could ask us to pre-authorize the payment. In that case, we will put a hold on your account for $20. Your actual balance would still be $50 because this transaction has not yet posted, but your available balance would be $30 because you have committed to pay the restaurant $20. When the restaurant submits its bill for payment, which could be a few days later, we will post the transaction to your account and your actual balance will be reduced by $20.

• Your available balance is used to determine when your account will be overdrawn. For example: Your actual and available balances are both $50, and you use your debit card at a restaurant for $20. A hold is placed on your account, so your available balance is only $30. Your actual balance is still $50. Before the restaurant charge is sent to Westerra for processing, a check that you wrote for $40 clears. Because you have only $30 available (and you have committed to pay the restaurant $20), your account will be overdrawn by $10, even though your actual balance is $50. In this case, we may pay the $40 check through WeGotYa/Courtesy Pay, for a fee, and your account is overdrawn by $10. At our discretion, Westerra may decline or return a transaction unpaid for a fee.

It is very important to understand that you may still overdraw your account even though the available balance appears to show there are sufficient funds to cover a transaction that you want to make. This is because your available balance may not reflect all your outstanding checks and automatic bill payments that you have authorized, or other outstanding transactions that have not been paid or posted from your account. In the example above, the outstanding check will not be reflected in your available balance until it is presented to us and paid from your account.

Also, your available balance may not reflect all of your debit card transactions. For example, if a merchant obtains our prior authorization but does not submit a one-time debit card transaction for payment within two calendar days of authorization, we must release the authorization hold on the transaction. The available balance will not reflect this transaction once the hold has been released until the transaction has been received by us and paid or posted from your account.

Transactions are paid in the chronological order they are received, regardless of the dollar amount or method of presentation for payment on the account.

When more than one check is received on the same day, they are processed in check number order.

When automated (ACH) transactions are received on the same day, deposits to your account are posted first, followed by payments. If the balance in your account is exceeded, all subsequent items will be declined to the merchant or returned unpaid without a fee.

You will be charged a $20 Courtesy Pay fee each time we pay a transaction that overdraws your account. A maximum of three fees per day, per checking. You will only incur Courtesy Pay fees for covered transactions if your account is overdrawn. That means, instead of declining an automated (ACH) payment, check, one-time or recurring debit card transaction because of insufficient funds, Westerra Credit Union may pay your item, which may save you additional charges from the company you intended to pay.

Both overdraft protection and Courtesy Pay are designed to prevent you from having a transaction rejected due to nonsufficient funds (NSF), saving you any additional fees from a merchant or biller.

• Overdraft protection does this by allowing funds to be transferred from a previously designated account (including any savings account or overdraft line of credit you have at Westerra) to pay for an item. Overdraft protection will NOT allow the account to be overdrawn (or go into a negative balance) to pay an item.

• Courtesy Pay is a noncontractual courtesy payment program offered at the sole discretion of Westerra Credit Union that works this way: Instead of returning the transaction to the merchant and if your account is in good standing, we may approve your overdrafts within your current available Courtesy Pay limit for a fee. You will then need to bring your account to a positive balance (or good standing) within 30 days.

• Set alerts in Digital Banking to let you know if your account reaches a certain high or low balance or if transactions over a certain amount take place on your account. Digital Banking is free for all members.

• Download the free CardNav App to receive real-time notifications on your phone every time a transaction is made on your account. You can set spending limits, approved merchant locations and types of transactions — and you can turn your cards on or off instantly.

• Use the free Westerra mobile banking app to quickly and easily check your balances.

• Record all your automated transactions, bill payments, Digital Banking transfers, checks, debit card transactions, ATM withdrawals and other payments. Be sure you are tracking your actual balance, not just your available balance.

• Ask us to automatically transfer funds from your other accounts when there are not enough funds in your spending/checking account to cover transactions. Choose the order you prefer to have funds transferred from – call us at 303-321-4209 or inquire at any branch to set it up:

  • Share account – Transfers are made in increments of $25 up to your available balance.

  • Money Market Account (if applicable) – Transfers are made in increments of $25 up to your available balance.

  • Overdraft line of credit (if applicable) – The amount needed to cover the transaction is transferred. Any fees and minimum payment are based upon the amount advanced. Apply at any branch or call us at 303-321-4209.

  • Westerra credit card – For debit card transactions, the amount needed to cover the transaction is transferred, up to your credit limit on the credit card, for a 2% cash advance fee. For all other methods of payment, transfers are made in the nearest increment of $25, up to your credit limit on the credit card, for a 2% cash advance fee. Complete this form to set credit card cash advances as overdraft protection. Apply for a Westerra credit card online, at any branch or call us at 303-321-4209.

  • When funds are depleted from the accounts you designated, Westerra may pay your transaction at our discretion through Courtesy Pay.

  • After the above options are accessed, if available, and there are still insufficient funds in the available account balance at the time of the transaction, the transaction will be declined, without a fee. However, you might have to pay fees from the company you intended to pay.