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What Happened to the CFPB Overdraft Rule? Banks Can Set Their Own Fees

Congress disapproved the CFPB’s 2024 overdraft rule in 2025. The rule no longer applies, but repeal alone does not show that banks raised their fees.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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The 2024 CFPB rule that would have limited how very large financial institutions charge for overdraft credit was disapproved by Congress in 2025. The rule no longer has force or effect, but that change does not prove that any bank raised its fee. To know what you may pay, check your institution’s current account disclosures.

What the CFPB overdraft rule would have changed

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized the rule on December 12, 2024. It covered overdraft credit offered by very large financial institutions and would have required that lending to follow consumer protections that apply to comparable credit—unless the institution charged a small fee limited to recovering estimated costs and losses. The CFPB’s final-rule summary describes the cost-recovery exception.

The rule did not simply impose a universal $5 cap. The Congressional Research Service’s September 2025 summary says institutions could have used a $5 benchmark fee, charged a higher fee supported by their costs, or treated overdraft as credit subject to Truth in Lending Act disclosures. It was scheduled to take effect in October 2025, but Congress disapproved it before then. CRS’s overview summarizes those options and the rule’s timeline.

Why the rule is no longer in effect

Congress passed S.J.Res. 18 under the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the CFPB rule. The resolution became Public Law 119-10, and the President signed it in May 2025. The resolution says the disapproved rule “shall have no force or effect.” Read the enacted resolution.

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The CFPB’s compliance page confirms that the rule has no force or effect and says, “The remainder of Regulations E and Z are unchanged and remain in force and effect.” The CFPB compliance page states the current regulatory status.

Can banks raise overdraft fees now?

The disapproval removed the new requirements in the CFPB’s 2024 rule; it did not set a new fee or show that banks have increased prices. Individual institutions set their own account terms, subject to applicable law and the regulations that remain in force. The cited sources do not establish which banks, if any, raised overdraft fees after the rule was disapproved, or by how much.

For your account, use the bank’s current fee schedule and account disclosures rather than assuming the repeal changed your price. Check the overdraft fee, the transactions it applies to, whether coverage is optional and how enrollment works, and whether the account offers grace periods, waivers, balance alerts, or linked-account transfers.

What supporters and opponents said

The Senate Banking Committee majority argued that the rule amounted to a price control and could lead banks to reduce overdraft coverage or raise other fees. Those were predictions offered in support of repeal, not evidence that banks subsequently made those changes. The committee’s statement explains its position.

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In House debate, supporters of the rule warned that disapproval could allow large banks to increase overdraft fees; opponents argued that a low fee limit could reduce access to overdraft coverage. These were competing arguments by lawmakers. The debate record establishes their positions, not the eventual effect on consumer prices. The House debate record contains both sides.

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What the historical fee data does—and does not—show

According to the CFPB’s research from 2020–2023, as summarized by the Congressional Research Service in 2025, bank revenue from overdraft and non-sufficient-funds fees declined by nearly half over that period. This is historical, system-level revenue data. It is not a measure of fee changes after the 2025 disapproval, and it does not predict what an individual bank will charge. CRS’s summary provides that context.

How to check what your bank will charge

  1. Find your bank’s current account agreement and fee schedule, using its website or mobile app. Confirm the document applies to your exact account and note its effective date.
  2. Look for “overdraft,” “overdraft item,” and “nonsufficient funds” fees. Check which transaction types are covered and whether the amount varies by account or transaction.
  3. Review whether overdraft coverage is opt-in, how to change enrollment, and whether there are grace periods, daily limits, or fee waivers.
  4. Compare alternatives offered on the same account, such as linked-account transfers and low-balance alerts, including any transfer charge or eligibility terms.
  5. If the disclosure is unclear, ask the bank to identify the current fee and the specific account term that authorizes it; keep the response with your account records.

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