No, the debit card is tied directly to your checking account. Purchases you make with the debit card are usually deducted from your checking account within 48 hours and in some cases (when the PIN number is used) the transactions are deducted from your checking account immediately. Unlike a credit card, there is no monthly interest charged on a debit card nor is there a monthly payment due.

First you must have a valid checking account in good standing with us. You may visit any of our branches to apply or download an application. You may also call us at 800-749-9732 ext. 1005 to apply over the phone.

Please call 877-703-5978 to activate your card.

With your PIN number, you may withdrawal or spend up to $625 per day against the available balance in your account. On signature, internet or phone purchases you may spend up to $2500 per day against the available balance in your account.

Yes, online shopping with your card is allowed. Before you shop online, please make sure that we have your correct address on file—some online merchants will verify your billing address before allowing a purchase to go through.

Yes, your card is good worldwide wherever Visa is accepted. Before travelling to another country, it’s always a good idea to contact us so we may notify our fraud monitoring service.

When you select the “debit” option (PIN number) during our normal hours of operation (approx. 6:30am until 6:30pm M-F/ 8:30am until 1:30pm on Sat.), the transaction is received by GTFCU in real time and is posted to your account immediately. If the “debit” option is selected during off-hours the transaction will not post to your account until the next business morning. These clearing procedures apply to all ATM withdrawals as well.

PIN number transactions post to your account in the order which you perform them.

Anytime you select the “credit” option (or pay by phone/internet) the merchant obtains an “authorization” for a specific dollar amount. An authorization is essentially a “promise to pay” and is not considered a completed transaction. GTFCU is then directed to place a temporary hold (48 hours maximum) for that dollar amount in your account. The merchant is responsible to collect on the authorization by sending a clearing message to GTFCU, at which time the hold on your funds is released (if it’s still in place) and the item will post to your account. Merchants are generally allowed to collect on an authorization at any time, even if the 48 hour hold on your funds has expired. GTFCU is not responsible for determining when a merchant chooses to collect on an authorization.

If GTFCU receives a clearing message from the merchant during our normal hours of operation, the transaction will post to your account immediately. If we receive the clearing message during off hours, the transaction will post on the next business morning.

“Credit” transactions post to your account in an order determined by the merchant. Each individual merchant tells us when it’s OK to post a transaction to your account. Those messages are collected by GTFCU in the order they were received and posted accordingly.

GTFCU does not reorder, rearrange or alter debit card transaction clearings. We receive clearing messages 24 hours a day (both “credit” and “debit”) and they all are posted in the order received by GTFCU or (if after hours) are stored in the order received by GTFCU and posted accordingly on the next business morning.

A credit or refund on your card will post to your account immediately provided that:

1)      The refund or credit is processed by the merchant during our normal hours of operation

AND

2)      Your card is open and active

A credit or refund on your card may be delayed if:

1)      The merchant does not immediately process the credit after issuing it to your card

OR

2)      Your card is closed

OR

3)      The merchant processes your credit before/after our normal hours of operation, in which case the credit or refund will post on the next business morning

(Assuming you have opted into overdraft coverage on your debit card purchases and withdrawals)

As mentioned, if you select “credit” the merchant will obtain an authorization which places a hold on funds in your account. This means the amount of the authorization is temporarily unavailable to you for no more than 48 hours. If another item (such as an outstanding check or ACH payment) is presented to your account during those 48 hours (and the merchant has not yet collected on the authorization), you may incur an overdraft or the item may be returned due to the unavailability of funds.

For example: If you have $100.00 available in your account and you select “credit” at the grocery store for $75.00, an authorization hold for that same amount will be placed on your account. You would then have $25.00 available for spending or to cover your outstanding items. This is often the reason why the available balance is less than the total balance when viewing your account.

A debit purchase may also cause an overdraft when you give your card or card number to a merchant who intends to settle your amount due at a later time; perhaps for a rental car or hotel room. The merchant will usually obtain a “pre-authorization” up front for an estimated dollar amount even if your final bill won’t be due for several days or longer. These “pre-authorizations” cause a hold to be placed on your funds which could lead to an overdraft when other outstanding items are presented for clearing.

An overdraft may also be caused by pay-at-the-pump purchases. When you select “credit”, the pump will usually authorize $1.00 and place a hold on your funds for that same amount. However, your final bill at the pump may end being as much as $100.00. Because the full amount of your bill is not being held in your account, the funds may not be available when it comes time for the gas station to collect.

The best way to explain is through some examples. Let’s assume there’s $50.00 in an account and three purchases are made. We’ll also assume that “debit (PIN)” was selected for each purchase.

**$50.00 available balance in the account**

Purchase One: $20.00 in the morning

Purchase Two: $20.00 at lunch

Purchase Three: $20.00 at dinner

Added together, these purchases total $60.00 which is $10.00 more than the account balance. Because “debit” was selected during our normal hours of operation, each purchase clears the account immediately in the order performed.

After the first two purchases clear the account, only $10.00 is available for the final purchase. As a result, one overdraft will occur.

Now we’ll look at the same example, only this time we’ll assume that “credit (signature)” was selected for each purchase.

**$50.00 available balance in the account**

Purchase One: $20.00 in the morning

Purchase Two: $20.00 at lunch

Purchase Three: $20.00 at dinner

Because “credit” was selected, the purchases do not clear immediately but are instead placed on hold in the account. After all three holds are in place, the available balance is negative $10.00.

The next day, merchant #1 decides to collect which removes one of the holds from the account. The available balance was negative $10.00 but when the $20.00 hold is removed the available balance is only $10.00. This will not be enough to cover the $20.00 purchase clearing and one overdraft will occur. After the purchase and overdraft fee* ($25.00) post to the account, the available balance goes down to negative $35.00.

When merchant #2 collects on their purchase, the $20.00 hold is removed which takes the available balance from negative $35.00 to negative $15.00. There will not be enough available funds to cover purchase #2 and a second overdraft will occur. After purchase #2 and the second fee post to the account, the available balance goes down to negative $60.00. Purchase #3 will not have enough funds available to clear. One more overdraft will occur which will bring the final balance down to negative $85.00.

In the first example, selecting “debit” only caused one overdraft. This is because the first two transactions cleared immediately without the need for a hold, leaving only the third transaction to clear against unavailable funds.

However, in our second example (using “credit”) the first two transactions did not clear immediately but were instead placed on hold. Once the third transaction was authorized, funds were no longer available for any of the transactions to clear against and three overdrafts occurred as a result. Had purchase #3 been authorized after the first two cleared, there would have only been one overdraft. By simply waiting to make purchase #3, $50.00 in overdraft fees would have been saved.

Call us immediately at 800-749-9732 ext. 1005 during normal business hours. If we are not open, you may call 877-703-5978 24 hours a day to report a lost or stolen card.

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