Huntington eliminating fees to cover overdrafts

Huntington Bank said its policy of dropping overdraft protection transfer fees will affect 10 percent of small busines customers.

COLUMBUS — Huntington Bank has eliminated another checking fee as part of its campaign to curb fees charged to customers.

The Columbus-based bank this week said it is no longer charging its $10 overdraft protection transfer fee for consumer and small business customers. Most banks charge some kind of fee if the bank transfers money to cover a negative balance.

“At Huntington we made the decision that we did not want to charge customers for transferring their own money from one account to another,” said Steve Steinour, the chairman and CEO of Huntington Bancshares. “Customers want a fair approach to their banking so that they can save and invest their hard-earned dollars. We hear them and we continue to give them the services they want.”

Huntington began cutting overdraft protection transfer fees in 2011 and will eliminate it for business customers by April.

Customers can connect their checking account to other Huntington accounts — such as a savings or money market account, home-equity line, or a credit card — as part of overdraft protection. In the past, if a transfer kicked in to cover a payment, a $10 fee was assessed.

Huntington said the new policy will affect about 10 percent of small business customers.

The bank said this is its latest move as part of its “fair-play” strategy that started with eliminating overdraft fees if the negative balance is covered within 24 hours.