Overdraft Fee Statistics: 2026 Report

Published: November 3, 2026By Benjamin Margolis, Founder and Managing Editor, The Fintech Index

Our analysts reviewed overdraft and nonsufficient funds fee revenue reported by banks with more than $1 billion in assets from 2019 through June 2026, five years of Bankrate fee surveys, Federal Reserve survey data on who paid an overdraft fee in 2025, and the published overdraft terms of five companies rated on The Fintech Index, to understand what overdrafts cost consumers as of Q4 2026.

An overdraft fee is the charge a bank adds when it pays a transaction the account does not have the money to cover. A nonsufficient funds, or NSF, fee is the charge for declining that payment instead. Both fees fall hardest on customers with the smallest balances, and many digital banks and fintech apps now compete by charging neither.

We gathered annual overdraft and NSF revenue from a Motley Fool Money analysis of FFIEC Call Report data, average fees from Bankrate's annual Checking Account and ATM Fee Study, and the share of adults paying overdraft fees from the Federal Reserve's survey of household economics. We then read the fee terms of the banking companies we rate.

In the following sections, we compare overdraft revenue by year, revenue at the largest banks, average overdraft and NSF fees, who pays overdraft fees, and the overdraft terms of rated companies.

Bank Overdraft Revenue Has Held Near $6 Billion Since 2023

Total fee revenue shows how much consumers pay for overdrafts each year. We gathered combined overdraft and NSF revenue for banks with more than $1 billion in assets, the banks required to report it, from 2019 through June 2026.

Key Findings

• Revenue fell 48.9% from 2019 to 2023 as large banks cut fees, then rose 4.7% from 2023 to 2025.
• The $2.96 billion collected in the first half of 2026 puts the year on pace for about $5.9 billion, close to the 2024 and 2025 totals.
• These totals leave out banks with $1 billion or less in assets and all credit unions, so consumers pay more than the reported figure.

Two Banks Collect About A Third Of Reported Overdraft Fees

Overdraft revenue is concentrated at a few of the largest banks, so their fee policies shape what most customers pay. We gathered overdraft and NSF revenue for the 10 banks that collected the most in the first half of 2026.

Key Findings

• JPMorgan Chase collected $562 million in the first half of 2026, 19.0% of the $2.96 billion reported by all banks in the data.
• Bank of America collected $152 million in 2025, down 90.3% from $1.56 billion in 2019, after it cut its overdraft fee to $10 and dropped its NSF fee.
• Capital One and Citibank have eliminated overdraft and NSF fees, and they collected $1 million and $2 million in 2023, down from $154 million and $109 million in 2019.

The Average Overdraft Fee Has Fallen About 20% Since 2021

The fee a single overdraft costs matters more to a customer than a bank's total revenue. We gathered the average overdraft and NSF fees from Bankrate's annual survey of checking accounts at 245 banks and thrifts.

Key Findings

• The average overdraft fee fell 20.3% from its record of $33.58 in 2021 to $26.77 in 2025, and has held between $26 and $28 since 2023.
• The average NSF fee fell 36.7% from 2022 to 2025, and only 61% of surveyed accounts still charged one in 2025.
• 94% of surveyed accounts still charged an overdraft fee in 2025, and a 2024 CFPB rule that would have let large banks charge as little as $5 per overdraft was overturned by Congress in 2025.

One In Eight Banked Adults Paid An Overdraft Fee In 2025

Who pays overdraft fees shows which customers gain the most from a fee-free account. We gathered the share of adults with a bank account who paid an overdraft fee in the prior 12 months, by income, age, and race and ethnicity.

Key Findings

• 12% of banked adults paid an overdraft fee in 2025, up 1 percentage point from 2021.
• Adults with family income of $25,000 to $49,999 were more than three times as likely to pay an overdraft fee as those with $100,000 or more.
• 25% of Black adults with a bank account paid an overdraft fee, about three times the 8% rate for White adults.

Most Rated Companies We Checked Charge No Overdraft Fee

The fee terms of fintech accounts show how they compare with the banks that still charge. We read the published overdraft terms of five banking and cash advance companies rated on The Fintech Index.

Key Findings

• Mercury, Revolut, Starling, and Acorns charge no overdraft fee, against the $26.77 bank average in 2025.
• Dave's ExtraCash is legally an overdraft, and its fee of $5 or 5%, whichever is greater, comes to $5 on a $100 advance, about a fifth of the bank average.
• Starling charges interest instead of fees: a £1,200 arranged overdraft used for 30 days at 15% EAR costs £13.86, about $18.57.

What Overdraft Data Means For Bank Customers In 2026

Overdraft fees have fallen sharply since 2019, as large banks cut fees and dropped NSF charges, but reported revenue has held near $6 billion a year since 2023. The average fee is still about $27, nearly every surveyed bank account charges one, and the customers who pay are most often those with lower incomes.

With the 2024 CFPB overdraft rule overturned, any further decline now depends on bank policy and competition. Fee-free accounts from digital banks and fintech companies give customers who overdraw often a direct way to stop paying.

So if you overdraw your account more than once a year, move your everyday spending to an account that declines payments or charges no overdraft fee.