CFPB - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
11/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/07/2024 10:02
Enforcement Action (Navy Federal Credit Union)
On November 7, 2024, the Bureau issued an order against Navy Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. Navy Federal is the largest retail credit union in the United States, with more than 13 million members with ties to the armed forces, Department of Defense, or National Guard and their families. The Bureau found that, from 2017 through 2022, Navy Federal engaged in unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 when it charged overdraft fees on debit-card purchases and ATM withdrawals when consumers' accounts had insufficient funds at the time the transactions settled even though they had sufficient funds when they made the transaction. Navy Federal knew members were not likely to understand these unanticipated overdraft fees. The Bureau also found that, through November 2020, Navy Federal engaged in unfair acts and practices by charging overdraft fees when it delayed in posting credits to members' accounts from funds received through person-to-person payment networks, even though those funds appeared to members to be available for immediate use. The order prohibits Navy Federal from charging either overdraft fee and requires it to pay at least $80,689,100 in consumer redress and a $15 million civil money penalty.