Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at Denison State Bank

(topics in alpha order)

BALANCES:

What's the difference between Account Balance and Memo Balance?

The "account balance" is the daily ending balance of from the previous business day. The "memo" balance or "available balance" is your real-time balance that includes electronic deposits and withdrawals applied to your account since then, such as direct deposit payment, ATM withdrawals, online/mobile deposits and withdrawals, exception holds, Visa Debit Card purchases, and other automatic withdrawals.

 

CHECKS:

Does DSB accept E-Checks?

More check issuers are now issuing “e-checks” through digital communications to payees rather than issuing printed paper checks. There are several things that must be included on a check for it to be negotiable for payment.
 

At DSB, at least for now, in order for an e-check to be accepted for cashing or for deposit, it still must be printed, trimmed to conforming check size, and properly endorsed on the back.  For in-person depositing/cashing, we cannot accept screen-shots of the image shown to us on a phone or monitor, nor can we accept an email message or untrimmed letter containing an e-check image; the check image must be printed and trimmed to conforming standards. E-checks can be deposited on the DSBconnect mobile app under “Deposit Checks”; they must be printed and endorsed on the back by inked/stamped payee name and the words “For Mobile Deposit Only.” As always, the bank has discretion to examine any check presented for cashing or for deposit, and may refuse to accept it if found to be suspicious or failing to meet minimum requirements. E-checks that are pre-imaged by the issuer with the payee’s name already printed on the endorsement line on the back side are not valid and will not be accepted.

 

COMMERCIAL CHECKING:

Why doesn’t DSB pay interest on Commercial checking accounts?

Even though it is legal for banks to pay interest on business checking accounts, we have elected to not pay interest on our Commercial checking, mainly because it is still a better deal for the business customer to receive the current earnings credit rate on Commercial checking than if we paid interest. DSB may have to alter its decision on this if and when interest rates rise, but for now, Commercial checking remains a noninterest-bearing account with an earnings credit applied.

Business customers can elect to open an interest-bearing Business NOW account, but again the Commercial checking earnings credit is higher. The bank reserves the right to switch a Business NOW account to a noninterest-bearing Commercial checking account based on our discretion and the account activity level. Written notification will be sent to the account holder if we do this.

 

CONSUMER CHECKING:

Why are there fees on consumer Beyond checking accounts?

The rationale is the higher the balance you maintain in your checking account, the more services and features you receive. Basic Checking is a basic transaction account with no free additional services since there is no required monthly minimum balance. Beyond Checking pays interest and provides the most services free or discounted if a $1,000 average daily balance is maintained for the cycle.

Banks depend on core deposits held in checking accounts to loan out to individuals and businesses. Banks must manage the risk of deposited checking funds being withdrawn at any time, which is why they place monthly minimum balances to help manage that risk and maintain liquidity. It's an important part of safety and soundness that we all expect from a bank.

Banks also use new technologies that are convenient to the customer and helps lower costs to the bank, such as electronic statement delivery. Lower operational costs translate into greater ability to pay higher rates on deposits and introduce new services.

As long as you follow the terms and conditions that govern your account, you will not pay fees such as overdraft/paid item fees, negative balance account closing fees, early account closing fees, and dormant account fees. The bank incurs certain costs when these terms are violated, and we are charge user fees to help pay a portion of those costs.

 

Why doesn't DSB have a rewards checking that pays high interest rates if I use certain technologies?

Because we don't think these rewards checking programs use a model that is beneficial to both the account holder and the bank. Paying unreasonably high rates on checking accounts can jeopardize the interest rate risk for a bank when the rate environment is paying much lower rates. (Currently, some banks are paying their highest levels of interest on checking accounts, while the prime lending rate and related loan rates are much lower - a considerable rate risk inversion for banks.)

In addition, we cannot justify to our savings and CD/IRA depositors that higher interest rates are paid on checking (which can be withdrawn at any time) compared to lower rates that are locked in a CD/IRA term. We have concerns about what will happen when market conditions elevate interest rates higher in the future.

We think it only fair that a reasonable rate of interest, as determined by market conditions, be paid on Beyond checking account funds that can be withdrawn instantly.

 

DEBIT CARDS:

How do I activate my new or re-issued debit card?

When you receive your new or re-issued debit card in the mail, you need to activate it by:
* Calling the phone number on the sticker affixed to the card, or - 
* Calling DSB's toll-free Telebanking service 1-866-372-5151 any time of day. Press menu option 3 and key in the 16-digit card number, or - 
* Logging in to DSBconnect > Manage Cards, and activate it there. 

 

Who sets the debit/credit card sales limits at gas pumps?

The store selling the gas does. The banks and card processors do not set the per-purchase limits. We know these limits are getting hit quicker with the rising price of fuel.

 

Why do some merchants place temporary and additional holds on funds?

When a debit card is used to make a purchase, the merchant may immediately process a “hold” for as much as three (3) times the amount of the actual sale price -- or more in some cases (varies by merchant). This is common with pay-at-the pump gasoline purchases and lodging reservations. For instance, you swipe your card at a gas pump, get $40 in fuel and take your receipt. If you were to look at your checking account later that day online, you may see a “hold” for the exact amount of the purchase as well as one or two additional holds for $80 or more. Those held amounts will stay in the memo activity in your Available Balance until that merchant processes the debit card purchases through its card processor. Merchants have 3 business days to do that from the day of a sale. Once processed, the holds fall off and the final purchase amount will move to a permanent posting in your Account Balance.

Another common procedure is a single $1 hold that merchants put on swiped debit card sales, and that one dollar will fall off at final account posting.

As your bank, we strive to give you access to your most current balance information. That includes credits and debits to your account. The most important thing to remember is that a debit card is direct access to your checking account. In order for that work, we are prohibited by Visa regulations to filter, monitor, change, control or stop any of the debit transactions processed each day.

Because these additional holds may prevent you from making debit card purchases based on funds availability, we always encourage our account holders to carry an additional source of payment with your debit card, such as a credit card, checkbook, or cash.

 

DEPOSIT INTEREST RATES:

Why are short-term interest rates on CDs and IRAs paying more than longer terms? I thought the longer I held money in a CD/IRA, the higher the rate I was paid?

Historically, the longer the term on a CD/IRA, the higher the interest rate that is paid on it, so a 5-year CD would earn more than a 1-year CD.  In year 2023, however, the U.S. interest-rate market is experiencing a steep inverted yield curve, in which short-term rates pay higher than long-term rates.  That is why our 6-month and 1-year CDs/IRAs opened after Sept. 13, 2023, are paying more than our 2-year through 5-year accounts. SEE DSB CURRENT RATES HERE.  There are many reasons why the inverted yield curve happens -- Wikipedia explains more here. 

 

ITEM PROCESSING:

Why do you process checks in check number order?

Because paying by check number is equally fair to both the account holder and the bank. It makes the most logical sense that presented checks be paid in the order they are written (assuming checking customer uses them in sequential order). We pay numbered checks by check number sequence and not by dollar amount. When processing items drawn on your checking account each business day, we pay in this order: credits/deposits first, then EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) debits, then any unnumbered checks, then numbered checks according to the check number sequence they are presented, starting with the lowest number. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented.

 

What is the bank's routing number?

101108034. That number appears at the bottom of any pre-printed deposit slips, checks and remittance coupons issued by the bank.

 

When do I provide full account numbers, and when should I shorten them for security?

If you are setting up direct deposit, direct debit, online bill pay and any other transaction with a third-party originator, you will need to provide the full account number and possibly what type of account prefix, such as "DDA" for checking and "SAV" for savings. This includes the full 16-digit number on debit and credit cards. There are times when emailing our bank on a non-secure email that you can "mask" your account number by typing just the last two digits as long as we can determine your email request and be able to conduct it.

 

Can I request the bank to not process a check I have already written?

No, once you write and deliver a check to a person or company and they deposit/cash it, it will be automatically presented against your DSB account through regular check clearing procedures. The bank cannot hold or delay the presentmen upon request.

 

OVERDRAFTS:

What does it mean to opt-in or opt-out for overdraft coverage on debit card transactions?

Federal banking laws require consumer consent before overdraft coverage can be extended on single, one-time debit card transactions. Read, print, sign and submit the opt-in form today. Without your opt-in, if you present your DSB Visa Debit Card for a purchase and there is not sufficient funds in the Available Balance at that exact moment, the transaction will be declined at that exact moment.

 

How does overdraft processing and notification work?

All account holders are advised to have sufficient funds deposited into accounts by the weekday same-day transaction deadline to cover any items that may be processed in that day's work, including checks presented to us for payment through the Federal Reserve clearing system.

The bank processes presented items in a specific order: credits/deposits first, then EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) debits, then any unnumbered checks, then numbered checks according to the check number sequence they are presented, starting with the lowest number. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. With modern automation, clearings are taking place much quicker than they used to. When processing is completed, if sufficient funds are in the account balance, the items are paid. If not, they are either paid through our Overdraft Privilege or returned unpaid NSF.

The first indication the bank sees of an overdrawn account is the next business morning. For NSF items paid, the bank generates paper OD notices and mails them that day, so the earliest that a paper notice arrives to the account holder is the next day. Example: your daily ending balance is overdrawn at the end of Sept. 14. We generate the OD notice and mail it on Sept. 15. Earliest you get it is Sept. 16, depending on postal delivery. You can register for electronic delivery of overdraft notices so that you can receive them by the next morning after an overdraft occurs.

Accounts are not officially overdrawn until the end of daily processing, which is around 2 a.m. the following day. The data system analyzes ending daily balances and reports an account as being overdrawn for that business day and triggers any OD/NSF fees.

 

QUICKEN / QUICKBOOKS:

Does DSB Online work with Intuit Quicken and QuickBooks?

The only claim our online banking service provider can grant on integration with Intuit’s Quicken and QuickBooks is this: the DSB account postings you see listed when you access your account history on DSBconnect can be exported to a .QBO file for Quickbooks or a .QFX file for Quicken (as well as Excel) and saved as a separate, stand-alone file on your computer. Click the Export link at top of the column to do that.  Then, you can open your Quicken/QuickBooks program and import that QBO or QFX file and access from there.

We cannot guarantee that you can start in Quicken/QuickBooks and have it automatically login to your DSB Online and access/import your DSB account transactions straight from that login. You may discover a way to do that, but it would not be officially supported or claimed as a function by us and our provider.