Sixty percent of consumers who paid an overdraft fee also reported a credit denial during the same 12-month period.

Thin savings leave many households choosing among checking balances, credit, delayed bills and other short-term sources of money.

Cash flow underwriting brings deposits, balances, transactions and overdraft history into credit decisions.

Running short of money before the next paycheck can force a consumer into making choices: let the checking account go negative, delay a bill, carry a card balance or seek additional credit.

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Consumers making those choices are also more likely to encounter future difficulty accessing credit.

A Consumer Bankers Association analysis released Wednesday (Oct. 8) found that 60% of consumers who paid an overdraft fee in the previous 12 months also reported being denied credit during the same period. The rate was roughly 1.5 times that of consumers who did not report paying an overdraft fee. CBA based its analysis on the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking.

The relationship puts two forms of household financial pressure in the same frame. Consumers who paid for access to money beyond their checking account balance were also much more likely to report that a lender had turned them down.

The Federal Reserve data show that overdraft use was concentrated among consumers with lower and middle income levels. Twelve percent of banked adults paid an overdraft fee in 2025.

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