We mail individual notices to customers on every instance of an overdraft. These notices are in addition to the Regulation E opt-in notice at account opening and the Regulation DD overdraft disclosures on their periodic statements. Are there any requirements or specific disclosures required for the individual overdraft notices?

We recommend sending the notices described in the 2005 Joint Guidance on Overdraft Protection Programs. The Joint Guidance states that institutions should send separate overdraft notifications to customers and suggests seven items of information to include in those notifications:

Promptly notify consumers of overdraft protection program usage each time used. Promptly notify consumers when overdraft protection has been accessed, for example, by sending a notice to consumers the day the overdraft protection program has been accessed. The notification should identify the date of the transaction, the type of transaction, the overdraft amount, the fee associated with the overdraft, the amount necessary to return the account to a positive balance, the amount of time consumers have to return their accounts to a positive balance, and the consequences of not returning the account to a positive balance within the given timeframe. Notify consumers if the institution terminates or suspends the consumer's access to the service, for example, if the consumer is no longer in good standing.

The FDIC also has incorporated this guidance into its Compliance Manual, V. Lending — Overdraft Payment Programs (page 13.8).