What are the Transfer Limits of U.S Banks for 2021?
When you sign up for a bank for the first time, it’s difficult to think about every single service you will need down the line. However, this article dives deep into ACH transfer limits of top banks in the U.S.
Considering all the fine print and periodic price increases, it is particularly difficult to keep up with these facilities.
This is exactly what Community member Rodney experienced when he needed to make ACH transfers from his UFBDirect savings account. ACH transfers are monetary external bank transactions that are handled electronically.
However, they are typically used for things like business-to-business payments, direct debit payments including mortgages, loans, utilities, insurance premiums, rents, and any other regular payments and tax payments.
About ACH Transfer Limits
Each bank operates slightly differently when it comes to rules regarding ACH transfers.
If you are thinking of using your account along with ACH transfers here are some key questions you should ask your bank:
- Is there a limit to how many transfers I can make each month, both inbound and outbound?
- Are there any limits on the amount of money I can transfer out? If so are there ways to increase the limit?
- When can I access transfers made into my account?
- What are the differences between domestic and international transfers?
- Are there time-relevant processing fees?
After finding out about these fee caps, we decided to call a few banks and find out some more info.
However, we quickly learned this isn’t the same for every institution.
We discovered the external bank transfer limits are actually limits for when you’re transferring money from your account at one banking institution to your account at a different banking institution.
What are the ACH Transfer Limits at Some Top Banks?
After reaching out to multiple banks, we were able to obtain some valuable information regarding each bank’s ACH transfer limits.
Here are some of the key data from our findings:
| Bank | ACH Transfer Amount Limits | Transfer Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America | $3,000 per day or $6,000 per month for standard delivery and $2,000 per day or $5,000 per month for next-business day delivery | $3 for standard time delivery and $10 for next-business day delivery |
| Chase | $10,000 per transaction or $25,000 per day | $0 |
| Wells Fargo | Varies depending on your account history but typically $5,000 per day | $0 |
| Citibank | $2,000 per day or $10,000 per month | $0 |
| U.S. Bank | Varies depending on your account history but typically $2,500 per day | $0 for standard time delivery from other institutions, $3 for standard time delivery to other institutions |
| Capital One | $10,000 per day or $25,000 per month | $0 |
| PNC Bank | $2,000 per day or $5,000 per month (transfer limits may be reviewed and raised if you have positive account history) | $0 if done online and $3 if assisted in branch |
| TD Bank | Varies depending on your account history but typically $3,000 per month | $0 |
| BB&T | $5,000 per day or $12,500 per month | $3 for standard time delivery and $10 for next-business day delivery |
| SunTrust | $10,000 per day or $20,000 per month (inbound) and $2,000 per day or $10,000 per month (outbound) | $3 for standard time delivery and $6 for next-business day delivery |
| Santander | $5,000 per day with one-time passcode ($500 without one-time passcode) or $20,000 per month | $0 |
| Fifth Third Bank | $2,000 per day or $5,000 per month | $3 |
| Citizen’s Bank | $10,000 per day or $15,000 per month
For next day transfers: $2,500 per day and $5,000 per month |
$3 for standard time delivery and $10 for next-business day delivery |
| M&T Bank | $10,000 per day (inbound) or $20,000 per day (outbound) | $3 |
| U.S. Bank | Varies depending on your account history | $3 for standard time delivery to other institutions |
| Ally Bank | Varies depending on your account history | $0 |
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Our Analysis
Most banks seem to offer higher limits than the $2,000 a month limit imposed by UFBDirect, which is good for customers that need more flexibility but don’t necessarily need unlimited transfer funds.
It appears that, on average, most banks have a daily transaction limit of about $5,884 per day and about $9,909 per month.
Certain banks, like Suntrust and Citizens Bank, offer fairly high daily transaction limits of $10,000 per day, whereas some banks like Fifth Third and PNC, cap their daily transactions at a lower $2,000.
Chase stands out in the crowd with a whopping $25,000 per day limit on daily transactions.
This is definitely something to consider when choosing your bank, especially if you run a business, or just simply plan to transfer higher amounts of money on a daily basis.
Transfer Fees
Similarly, another important fee to note is the transfer fee imposed by banks. If you’re planning on making transfers on a more than regular basis, these transfer fees can add up, making it costly to you.
We found that banks charge roughly $3 for every transfer with standard delivery time and on average about $8 for next-day delivery.
Some banks, however, keep it simple and charge nothing for their transfers; you’ll find $0 transfer fees at Ally Bank and Capital One.
Bank of America does something different where they have a $1,000 daily limit, but this is lifted when you enroll in a Safe Pass — a program that sends a code to your phone to verify that it is indeed you that is making the transaction.
Also, Santander is another bank that imposes a $500 daily limit, unless you enroll in Safe Pass, then your limit will be increased to $5,000/day.
Keep in mind too, that the limits change depending on if you’re receiving the money (inbound) or if you’re sending out the money (outbound).
Typically, we found that most banks will also allow you to receive higher dollar amounts, as opposed to send them out.
Your Relationship With your Bank Matters
Most banks have written in their fine print that the daily/monthly ACH transfer limits rely heavily on your relationship with the bank.
If you’ve been a loyal customer for some number of years, keep your account balance in the positive, and more or less follow all of the guidelines set by your bank, they will most likely up your transfer limit.
On the other hand, if your account balance is negative, or you’re a new customer, or you rack up lots of fees on a frequent basis, your bank will be less likely to increase your transfer limit.
As with savings accounts, each bank has different rules and exceptions to how you can use ACH Transfers.
If you want to be able to access as much of your money as you want, when you want it, make sure to speak with a bank representative about ACH
Transfer limits before committing to a savings or checking account.
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