Returned Item Fee

A fee that is charged to a bank account holder when a check or electronic payment they have made is returned unpaid.

More Details

A returned item fee is a charge that is assessed by a financial institution when a check or other item that has been deposited into an account is returned unpaid.

This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as insufficient funds in the account of the person who wrote the check, or a stop payment order being placed on the check by the account holder. Returned item fees are typically assessed to cover the cost of processing the returned item and any related administrative expenses.

Example

Imagine that you have deposited a check into your account, but the check is later returned unpaid because the person who wrote the check did not have enough money in their account to cover it. Your financial institution may charge you a returned item fee to cover the cost of processing the returned check and any related expenses. This fee could be a flat amount, or it could be a percentage of the check amount.

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