On April 24, 2024, the CFPB published a report highlighting that overdraft/NSF Revenue in 2023 was down more than 50% versus pre-pandemic levels, saving consumers over $6 billion annually. This significant reduction in junk fees is attributed to the CFPB’s heightened its supervisory attention on overdraft and NSF fees in 2022.
The CFPB's most recent analysis indicates that:
Reported annual overdraft/NSF revenue has dropped by $6.1 billion since before the pandemic, saving the average household who overdrafts $185 per year. This reflects a nearly $2 billion annual reduction in NSF fees, and a roughly $4 billion annual reduction in overdraft fees.
In 2023, overdraft/NSF fees were approximately $1.8 billion lower than in 2022, a 24% decrease.
However, banks appear to have stopped significantly reducing overdraft fees, as their major policy changes have taken effect and further policy changes have slowed. Following five straight quarterly declines in overdraft/NSF revenue, such revenue remained flat across all quarters of 2023. Even with the substantial reductions in fees versus prior years, consumers paid over $5.8 billion in 2023 in reported overdraft/NSF fees.
Evidence continues to suggest that financial institutions are generally not increasing other checking account fees to compensate for reduced overdraft/NSF revenue. Across all reporting banks, combined account maintenance and ATM fees remained flat from 2019 to 2023.
Read the CFPB’s report here.