ABA survey says...Just under half of consumers reject overdraft protection

Bank customers, to the tune of 49%, say they did not opt in to their bank's overdraft protection protection program, while 46%, say they either already did - or will - enroll. Another 5% of customers did not know or were unsure of what they will decide.

That means they're willing to pay a fee to ensure that debit card transactions will be approved even if the purchase will overdraw their account. The survey was conducted by Ipsos-Reid, a market research firm that polled more than 1,000 adults by telephone on Aug. 14 and 15 of this year.

On Aug. 15, new federal regulations went into effect requiring banks to get permission from customers before paying debit card overdrafts and charging a fee for the service. Under prior practices, banks would approve the transactions and thereby automatically trigger fees. No permission was required.

Customers who do not opt in for overdraft protection will have transactions denied if there is not enough money in the account to cover the purchase. But they will not be charged any fees.

The new rules do not affect checks or automatic bill payments.

 The survey's margin of error was plus or minus three percent.

"These results show that many bank customers value debit card overdraft protection and are willing to pay for the service," said Nessa Feddis, vice president and retail banking expert for the American Bankers Association. "They are now in the driver’s seat and control the way their accounts are managed."

I haven't opted in. But I'm curious, what did you decide?