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Like most people in Miami, you have a checking account that is still feeling stressed. This means whether you’re buying a few too many drinks at an overpriced bar before your next paycheck or just trying to put food on the table, you’re probably overdrafting once in a while. At least 26 percent of Americans with checking accounts do it at least ten times a year. But damn, we Miamians are paying higher overdraft fees than folks anywhere else in the nation.
Moebs $ervices collected data from 1,240 banks, 1,292 credit unions, and 832 national retail merchants and found that the average overdraft fee varies from city to city.
Miami has the highest median fee for overdrafts less than $100 in America, at $30.95. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, overdrafters pay only $22.50 in fees.
“Obviously the institutions in the Bay Area of San Francisco recognize the consumer need for a safety net, while in Miami an overdraft is still a penalty,” Michael Moebs told Reuters.
The best way to avoid overdraft fees is to create a savings account at your bank and then sign up for overdraft protection, which dips into your savings when your checking account runs dry. But Moebs found that 20.5 percent of banks and credit unions don’t offer overdraft service.
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