Minimise and Avoid Bank Accounts Fees

There may be times when you try to make a transaction but don’t have enough money in your account. If the transaction is made, this may trigger an Overdrawn Fee, so it’s important to know what this is and how to minimise the chance of incurring the fee.

Preventing your account from overdrawing

If your account becomes overdrawn, the balance would be negative. It’s important to top up your balance as soon as possible so it would be returning the balance to credit plus putting funds to cover future payments to avoid overdrawing it further. You may incur an Overdrawn Fee and debit interest may be charged on the negative balance.

To avoid being charged a fee, it’s good to:

Check your account regularly to ensure it has enough cleared funds to cover your payments/transactions.
Allow enough time for deposits to be processed before you draw on the funds (some can take up to 5 business days).
Keep track of your regular payments (including direct debits and recurring card payments) and reschedule them if you need to.

Fees

Fee type and account	Amount	How is it charged
Overdrawn Fee
This fee will be applied once on any given day on which you overdraw or further overdraw your account if the balance is not returned to a positive balance by the end of the day or to a balance within the agreed overdraft limit (as applicable). Applies to transaction (except basic bank accounts), savings, home loan and business accounts, plus personal and business loans.	$15 (max per day)	You may be charged $15 if we honour a transaction that overdraws your account The fee is charged once daily even if you make multiple transactions that overdraw your account on the same day If you overdraw your account further on another day, you’ll be charged again You’ll also be charged debit interest for as long as your balance remains negative. This is calculated daily and charged at the end of the month.
Fee type and account	Amount	Tips to avoid this fee
Outward dishonour or periodical payment not made fees When your cheque, direct debit or periodical payment is dishonoured due to not having enough money in your account. Applies to home, personal and business loans.	$0	Check your balance regularly to ensure there are adequate cleared funds in your account Build yourself a buffer of cleared funds to cover scheduled payments Draw some direct debits from an alternative account Set a reminder in your diary or phone of upcoming payments to help ensure there are enough cleared funds available.
Inward Dishonour Fee When a cheque you deposit is dishonoured or a direct debit to your account is declined. Applies to personal and flexi loans.	$0	Check your balances regularly to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover your payments to your Flexi loan or Personal loan Build yourself a buffer of cleared funds Schedule payments a few days after regular deposits, like your salary, are made.

Note: Business accounts and loans includes business transaction accounts, business loans and business overdrafts.

Some example scenarios

Mark pays his $50 phone bill by direct debit.

But Mark doesn’t realise his account balance is getting low – only $10 – when the phone bill is processed. This means his account is overdrawn by $40 and he incurs a $15 Overdrawn Fee. If he had opted in to receive regular balance alerts, he could have received a notification on his phone and known to top up his account before it was overdrawn.

Jose pays an unexpected bill to fix his car after it breaks down.

But Jose forgets to check his balance after the transaction is processed, so he doesn’t have enough funds to cover the rent which is due in two days and paid by direct debit. His account becomes overdrawn by $200 and he incurs a $15 Overdrawn Fee. If Jose had Quick Balance on his Westpac Mobile Banking app, he might have found it easier to monitor his account’s balance and keep it topped up.

Sandra's monthly health insurance premium is dishonoured.

Unlike Mark and Jose, Sandra has changed her account Overdraw Preference to ‘disable’, to prevent her account from overdrawing* when it has insufficient funds. One day, the $120 direct debit is processed when she only has $60 in her account, so the transaction is dishonoured. Because of this, she avoids paying $15 Overdrawn Fee for overdrawing her account. However, she will need to contact her insurer to make up any missed payment that may have occurred.

*Note: by direct debit, periodical payment, cheque withdrawal or scheduled payments.

Tools to help you manage your spend

Quick Balance
Keep on top of your most recent activity by setting up Quick Balance (only available on the Westpac App for mobile). No need to sign in to Mobile Banking; in a flash, you can see your account balance and also your 10 most recent transactions from the past 14 days.

Regular payments list
Review your periodical payments or direct debits easily by asking us for a list of the regular payments and transactions on your account. You can request for a regular payments list in branch, with Online or Mobile Banking, or by giving us a call.

Overdraw Preference
The Overdraw Preference feature gives you the option whether we allow a direct debit, periodical payment, cheque withdrawal or scheduled payments to overdraw your account (if eligible). Refer to Overdrawing your account for more information.

Did you know?

If you receive a protected payment such as income support or pension while your account is overdrawn, you may still be able to withdraw up to 90% of your fortnightly payment. Learn more.