How to avoid fees for savings transfers and withdrawals

Updated Feb. 19, 2021, at 1:35 p.m. CT

Why’s there a limit on free transfers and withdrawals you can make from your savings accounts?

Dupaco’s mission is to encourage responsible financial activity and thrift.

Limiting fee-free transfers and withdrawals from your savings accounts helps encourage you to save. It also helps ensure that the financial cooperative has the proper amount of available cash for member needs, said Katie Shemak, deposit operations manager at Dupaco Community Credit Union.

How it impacts you

Under Dupaco’s fee structure, you’re limited to six transactions each month on certain transfers and withdrawals from your savings and money market accounts.

“The savings accounts are really meant for saving, and this helps encourage that, as Dupaco doesn’t classify savings accounts as transaction accounts,” Shemak said.

At Dupaco, a $3 excessive transfer fee is imposed for each subsequent transfer or withdrawal from that savings account. A $5 excessive transfer fee is imposed for each subsequent transfer or withdrawal from Dupaco’s money market accounts (Investor’s Choice and High-Yield Savings).

When fees come into play

Savings account transactions that are limited to six each month include those made using:

• Shine Online and Mobile Banking.
• Dupaco’s Presto Telephone Teller, a free voice response system that allows you to access your accounts any time by calling (800) 373-7600.
• Telephone transfers.
• Telephone requests for check withdrawals.
• Pre-authorized withdrawals, including automatic bill payments.
• Overdraft transfers used to cover shortages in a checking account.

When the transactions are fee-free

Not all transfers and withdrawals from your savings accounts receive these fees, though. Transactions that don’t count against your allotted six include:

• Transfers for loan payments.
• ATM withdrawals, including ATM cash withdrawals from your savings account.
• In-person transactions at a Dupaco branch or CO-OP Shared Branch.

How you can avoid savings transfer and withdrawal fees

These steps can help you avoid excessive transfer fees:

|1| Review your budget.

A free Dupaco Money Makeover can help you review your budget so you know how much money you need in each account to both cover your expenses and build your savings. By properly allocating your funds in your checking and savings accounts, you can avoid the need to transfer money from your savings accounts to cover shortages, Shemak said.

|2| Use your checking account for direct deposit.

Once you’ve reviewed your budget, consider having your recurring deposits, such as your paychecks, securely direct deposited into your checking account—not your savings account. From there, you can use Dupaco’s automatic transfers to distribute your money into your other accounts, such as You-Name-It Savings or your Holiday Club account.

|3| Utilize payroll distribution.

Another option: Take advantage of payroll distribution. You can set up recurring deposits to automatically distribute to your accounts before the funds hit your checking account.

“When the payroll comes in, we divvy it up before our members even see it in their checking accounts,” Shemak said. “Some members don’t want to see how much money they have until everything has been paid first. They just want to see what’s leftover.”

|4| Try to prevent overdrafts.

Overdraft transfers from savings accounts go against your allotted six transactions. So, it’s one more reason to keep close tabs on your checking account balance.

Know how much money is in your checking account before those automatic debits and withdrawals occur and before you use your Dupaco MoneyCard, Bill Pay or a paper check.

Learn other ways to break the fee cycle >

|5| Use Dupaco’s eNotifier Alerts.

Make it easier to keep tabs on your accounts by activating Dupaco’s free eNotifier Alerts. You can customize them to be alerted every time you transfer money from your savings account to your checking account.

You also can log into Shine Online or Mobile Banking to review the transactions you’ve made from your savings accounts.

Within Shine Online Banking, you’ll also be alerted every time your transaction counts against your allotted six transfers.

|6| Go to a branch or ATM.

When you need cash from your savings account, go to a Dupaco branch, CO-OP Shared Branch or ATM. This way, you’ll avoid the monthly transaction limit.

|7| Take more money than you need.

When you do transfer or withdraw money from your savings account, consider taking more than you need. This will give yourself a cushion. You can always return money to your savings account later.