Suddenly, you checked your Chase account and found some worrying things. First, there’s a charge you don’t recognize called “TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO.” Even worse, your account balance shows $0 or negative money!
But don’t freak out just yet. The good news is your account wasn’t hacked or scammed. No one stole your money. This situation just means you made some mistakes with your spending.
What’s going on is that you overspent from your account, causing the strange charge and negative balance. We can explain the charge, how to fix it, and how to avoid it in the future.
While this problem is stressful, the money isn’t totally gone. It just needs some correction on your part by working with Chase. With care, you can get your account back in order and steer clear of this in the future.
Stick with us to understand TOT ODP/SWP DR MEMO charges, what causes them, and how to get back on track after seeing one. We’ll provide the key details – no finance degree required!
What is TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO?
TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO refers to an automatic transfer from your Chase savings account to your checking account. This will be a transaction by Chase. This was done to temporarily cover a pending overdraft transaction in your checking account.
Basically, you tried to spend more money from your checking account than was actually in there. To cover the purchase, the bank took money from another linked account, usually savings. So the charge on your checking is the amount transferred from savings.
- TOT = Temporary Overdraft Transaction
- ODP = Overdraft Protection (prevents your account from overdrawing by transferring funds from another linked account)
- SWP = Sweep
- DR = Debit
- CR = Credit
- MEMO = Transaction description
This type of transfer costs less than a regular overdraft fee. But it only works if you have enough money in the other account to fully cover the overdraft amount.
You’ll see a corresponding TOT ODP SWP CR MEMO on your checking account statement. This shows the money credited from savings to cover the overdraft.
This memo on your statement means you overdrafted your account. You spent more money than you had available in your balance.
When this happens, the bank pays for your purchase anyway to cover the overdraft. But then they charge you extra fees and interest on the amount you overdrafted.
If you have overdraft protection set up with your bank, they take the overdraft amount from another account like savings. This costs less than a regular overdraft fee.
But if the overdraft is more than your protection limit, you get hit with higher fees and rates.
Overdraft protection is a service banks offer to pay for purchases when your balance is too low. It covers debit card transactions, ATM withdrawals, checks, and transfers.
Even if you overdraw your account, the bank will pay these transactions instead of bouncing them. But then you have to repay the overdraft amount plus any fees.
What is the Purpose of Chase’s Overdraft Transactions?
Chase offers overdraft protection to link checking and savings accounts. If you enroll, Chase pays overdraft transactions from checking and transfers savings funds to cover them.
This triggers TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO charges as money moves between accounts. It’s cheaper than a regular overdraft fee.
If savings has enough to fully cover the checking overdraft, you just pay a small transfer fee. But if savings is too low, you get hit with a $34 overdraft fee per transaction.
Chase will pay reasonable overdrafts up to their limits. Even small purchases can quickly add up to $100+ in fees if savings can’t cover the overdrawn checking amount.
How to Avoid Overdraft Fees From TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO
The “TOT” part stands for Temporary Overdraft Transaction. This gives you a short window to fix your negative balance and dodge overdraft fees.
Chase processes all your transactions and charges overdraft fees overnight. If you get your balance positive or less negative before 11pm Eastern, you can avoid fees for that day.
Even covering part of the overdraft amount may eliminate some fees. Depositing cash at a branch or ATM can help. Or deposit a check on the Chase app.
You could also try transferring money from another bank or apps like Venmo. But those transfers may not hit in time.
If you do make a deposit, the TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO won’t instantly disappear. Your balance can still show negative until overnight processing.
How can you quickly add funds to cover an overdraft?
- Make a cash deposit at a Chase branch or ATM – this will instantly credit your account.
- Use the Chase mobile app to deposit a check by taking a photo of it. Much faster than going to a branch.
- Transfer money from another bank account or money app like Venmo or PayPal. But be careful – these external transfers often take longer to process and may not hit in time before 11pm.
- See if you can move funds from a linked Chase savings account or line of credit, as internal transfers are faster.
Even covering part of the overdrawn amount can help eliminate one or more overdraft fees for the day. Every little bit helps when you’re in temporary overdraft.
After you deposit funds, the TOT ODP SWP DR MEMO may still show on your statement and balance until overnight processing is complete. But if you got money in before the cutoff time, you should avoid the $34 fees.
