Important
Funds Availability Information
INTRODUCTION
At Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. we are pleased to have you as a customer. We are
a full-service financial institution offering products and services which meet
your personal, business and international needs. We at Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.
are committed to providing you the security you expect along with the friendly
caring service you deserve.
This brochure contains rules and regulations which govern your deposit account(s)
with us. Should you have any questions, please contact us.
CHECKING, NOW, MONEY MARKET & SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
RULES AND REGULATIONS
By signing an application or a signature card, or by accepting a copy hereof,
the owner of any account with Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. (such owner being hereinafter
referred to as the "Depositor" and Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. being hereinafter
referred to as the "Bank") shall be governed by the following Rules
and Regulations. (Words used in the singular form hereinafter shall be deemed
to imply the plural where applicable.)
1. JOINT ACCOUNT When an account is opened in the
name of two or more persons and designated as a joint account, the balance from
time to time in the account and all deposits therein shall be the property of
all such persons as joint tenants with right of survivorship and the Bank may
make payment to or on the order of any of them or to any one or more of the survivors
among them and these provisions shall not be affected by the death, insanity
or other disability of the person to whom payment is not made. Each joint Depositor
authorizes the other to endorse for deposit and to deposit in said account all
items belonging or payable to any one or more of them. Any or all moneys or items
received (whether or not belonging to or payable to any or all of them) for credit
or debit to the said account may, with or without endorsement, in the absence
of the Bank's receipt of contrary instructions in writing, be credited or debited
to the said joint account. The Bank shall be protected in relying upon the authorization
contained in the immediately two preceding sentences until actual receipt by
it of written notice of the termination thereof, whether such termination be
by operation of law or otherwise. Each joint Depositor shall be entitled to pledge
all or part of the funds in a joint account only with the signatures of all joint
Depositors and only with the Bank's prior approval. Each joint Depositor shall
be jointly and severally liable for repaying any overdraft regardless whether
or not that joint Depositor signed the instrument creating the overdraft or benefited
from the overdraft.
2. MINORS When an account stands in the name of
a minor, such minor may make withdrawals in the same manner as if he were of
legal age. When an account stands in the name of an individual as trustee for
a minor, the minor may not make withdrawals unless assented to in writing by
the trustee.
3. CORPORATE ACCOUNTS Corporations, partnerships,
associations and other organizations may establish an account subject to the
same rules and regulations as govern accounts of individual depositors. Unless otherwise
excepted by the Bank, a non-individual depositor shall be bound by any acts committed
by any persons designated as its duly authorized signatories in an application
or signature card.
4. SERVICE CHARGES All accounts opened by the Depositor
shall be subject to such service and maintenance charges as the Bank adopts from
time to time. The charges shall be deducted from the amount on deposit and shall
be set forth in the Depositor's statement of account. A schedule of charges may
be obtained from the Bank. However, the Depositor shall be responsible for paying
on demand any charges not so deducted.
5. DORMANT ACCOUNTS An account is considered dormant
when the Depositor has not initiated any debit or credit activity for one year.
All dormant accounts will be assessed the standard monthly service charge, regardless
of the balance in the account or in related accounts. Under applicable state
law, in New York, Florida, and Texas, the Bank may be required to send to the appropriate
state authorities as abandoned property any funds in the account if the account
has been inactive for an extended period of five years. The Depositor can prevent
this by making a deposit or withdrawal or notifying the Bank in writing that
the Depositor is aware of the account's existence. Once funds are sent to the
state, they are held in trust for the benefit of rightful claimants and claims
must be made directly to the state.
6. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT A statement of account for
Checking, NOW or Money Market accounts together with canceled check images shall
be rendered each month on such dates as the Bank may elect. A statement of account
for Savings accounts shall be rendered on a quarterly basis (or monthly when
an EFT has been made). In the absence of specific written instructions, the Bank
shall be authorized to mail any statements and correspondence to the last known
mailing address of the Depositor on file with the Bank. The Depositor shall exercise
reasonable care and promptness in examining each statement of account and shall
report to the Bank, within 14 calendar days (60 days for EFT's) after receipt
of such statement, any irregularities found therein, including, but not limited
to, any unauthorized signatures and alterations. Unless the Depositor notifies
the Bank of an irregularity in a statement within 14 days (60 days for EFT's)
after receiving it, the Depositor will be deemed to have admitted its correctness
and will have waived any right to object to it. The Depositor also agrees to
return immediately to the Bank any checks or other items which do not belong
to the Depositor. The Bank will provide the Depositor with statements and supporting
entries upon request and payment of a service charge in accordance with the then
current schedule of charges available from the Bank. Because the Depositor is
in the best position to discover an unauthorized signature, an unauthorized endorsement,
missing deposit, or an alteration, the Depositor agrees that the Bank will not
be liable for paying such items if: (1) the Depositor did not examine the statement
and the canceled checks (if included) or the Depositor did not report unauthorized
signatures, unauthorized or missing endorsements, encoding errors or alterations
or missing deposits to us within the time period set forth above, or (2) these
items were forged or altered so cleverly (as by unauthorized use of a facsimile
machine or otherwise) that the forgery or alteration could not be detected by
a reasonable person. The Depositor may bear some or all of the loss resulting
from an alteration or forgery of a check on an account if the Depositor's failure
to exercise ordinary care substantially contributed to the alteration or forgery.
7. TERMINATION OF ACCOUNT RELATIONSHIP Either the
Depositor or the Bank may terminate a Checking Account at any time without previous
notice. Terminations by the Bank may be effected by mailing notice, notice thereof,
or, at the Depositor's risk, by forwarding a check for the balance, if any, in
the account to the Depositor. Termination of Savings, NOW or Money Market accounts
is subject to any applicable limitations on withdrawals. Any items presented
to the Bank subsequent to such termination may be returned unpaid. Termination
of accounts within six months after they were opened shall be subject to a service
charge in accordance with the then current schedule of charges available from
the Bank.
8. WITHDRAWALS Withdrawals from accounts shall be
made only upon presentation to the Bank of written orders on the appropriate
form furnished by the Bank for such purpose. The Bank reserves the right to require
written notice of any intended withdrawal from the account seven days before
such withdrawal may be made, but may at any time permit any withdrawal from the
account without such notice and without thereby waiving its right to require
such notice as to any other withdrawal. The Bank may, from time to time, limit
the number of withdrawals that may be made at no charge. Withdrawals in excess
of the stated limits shall be subject to a service charge in accordance with
the then current schedule of charges available from the Bank.
9. DEPOSITS The Bank acts only as the Depositor's
agent and assumes no responsibility beyond its exercise of ordinary care. All
items are credited subject to final payment and to receipt of final payment in
cash or solvent credits by the Bank at its own office. The Bank may forward items
to correspondents and shall not be liable for the insolvency, mistake, misconduct,
default or negligence of correspondents selected with ordinary care nor for losses
in transit, and each correspondent shall not be liable except for its own negligence.
Items and their proceeds may be handled by any Federal Reserve Bank in accordance
with applicable Federal Reserve rules, and by the Bank or any correspondent in
accordance with any common bank usage, any practice or procedure that a Federal
Reserve Bank may use or permit another bank to use, or any other lawful means.
The Bank or its correspondents may send items directly or indirectly to any bank
including the payor, and accept its draft or credit as conditional payment in
lieu of cash. The Bank may charge back any item drawn on the Bank which is ascertained
to be drawn against uncollected and/or insufficient funds or deemed otherwise
not good or payable at any time prior to its midnight deadline or within a longer
reasonable time after it learns of the facts. An item received after the Bank's
regular afternoon closing hour shall be considered received the next banking
day. Banking day shall be defined as that part of anyday during which the Bank
is open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its banking functions. The Bank reserves the right to post all deposits, including deposits
of cash and items drawn on it, not later than midnight of its next banking day
after receipt at its office during regular banking hours, and shall not be liable
for damages for non-payment of any presented item resulting from the exercise
of this right.
10. BANK-BY-MAIL Withdrawals and deposits may be
made by mail on such forms as the Bank supplies for that purpose. The Depositor
agrees that all transactions by mail shall be undertaken at the Depositor's sole
risk and shall be subject to the rules and regulations applicable to withdrawals
and deposits in general. The Depositor shall not include currency in any deposit
by mail and shall hold the Bank harmless from any liability in connection with
currency allegedly lost through a deposit by mail.
11. TRANSFERS No gift, assignment, pledge, or other
transfer of the whole or any part of the amount held at any time to the credit
of the Depositor shall be valid unless the Bank has previously approved the transfer
in writing (which it may refuse to do in its discretion) and has had reasonable
time to record the transfer on its books and records.
12. CREDIT AND CONFIDENTIALITY To allow the Bank
to analyze your potential needs, or as part of the qualifying and maintenance
process for Depositors, you authorize the Bank, to the extent permitted under
applicable law, to obtain information from credit reporting agencies, Chex Systems
or similar agencies, as the Bank deems necessary. The Bank may also verify employment
history. Depositor understands such information will be used by the Bank for
internal purposes only. The Bank may disclose information to third parties about
the account or any transfer made in connection therewith whenever such disclosure
is necessary in order to complete a transfer, to verify the existence and condition
of the account to the third party, such as a credit bureau or merchant, or to
comply with lawfully received orders from a government agency or court. The Bank
may also disclose such information upon the written request or authorization
of the Depositor. Moreover, the Bank may disclose information to third parties
regarding credit experience.
13. TELEPHONE MONITORING The Depositor agrees that
the Bank may record any telephone conversation with the Depositor to monitor
quality of service, to verify transaction-related information, or for any other
purpose relating to an account, and waives any further notice of the taping of
any particular conversation.
14. CHECKS/NEGOTIABLE ORDERS OF WITHDRAWALS The
Bank may refuse to honor any check or item signed in a form which is inconsistent
with the name of the account or the authorized signature. All items drawn against
an account are to be written on the special form of check or negotiable order
of withdrawal supplied or approved by the Bank. The Bank reserves the right to
return unpaid any other form of order presented or any order incompletely or
defectively drawn. At its option, the Bank reserves the right to refuse any double
endorsed checks, or other item.
If the Depositor gives an item in excess of the Depositor's available funds or
line of credit, the Bank reserves the right to execute such order only up to
the amount covered. The Bank's policy is to pay checks from the largest dollar
amount to the smallest dollar amount. The Bank reserves the right to refuse payment
of checks or negotiable orders of withdrawals drawn by the Depositor against
deposits, either of cash or checks made the same day, and shall not be liable
for so doing.
The Depositor shall provide written notice to the Bank of any postdated checks.
Such notice shall contain a complete description of the check, including the
name of the payee, and the date, the number and the amount of the check. The
Bank shall not, under any circumstances, be liable to any Depositor who fails
to provide such information in connection with a post-dated check.
15. INTERNAL MONEY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING For regulatory
and accounting purposes, your checking account will consist of two "sub-accounts" on
our books: 1) either a non-interest-bearing (demand) account or an interest-bearing
(NOW) sub-account, and 2) a money market sub-account. These sub-accounts are
treated as a single account for statements and daily use of your account.
Interest is not earned on either sub-account for non-interest-bearing checking
accounts. For interest-bearing checking accounts we will pay interest on the
total ledger balances in the sub accounts at the interest checking account rate.
Whenever your checking sub-account balance exceeds a threshold amount (which
we may set and change at our discretion), we may transfer funds above that amount
to the money market sub-account. As these funds are needed to pay items presented
against your checking account, we will transfer funds from the money market sub-account
to the checking sub-account, up to six times per statement period. If a sixth
transfer is needed, the entire balance in the money market sub-account will be
transferred into the checking sub-account. This process may be repeated each
statement period.
The accounting process has no effect on the day use of your account, on how checks
are paid, or on how account activity appears on your periodic account statement.
16. CHECK HOLD POLICY In order to permit proper
clearing time for checks that are either cashed or deposited, the Bank shall
have the right to place a "hold" for the amount of such checks against
the balance in the Depositor's account. The "hold" periods applicable
to specific types of checks shall be as established by the Bank from time to
time. Funds on "hold" may be withdrawn from an account only upon expiration
of the applicable "hold" period. A schedule of the Bank's current check
hold policy may be obtained from the Bank. Neither the Bank's payment of a deposited
check at the expiration of the applicable "hold" period, nor the Bank's
election to cash a deposited check before the expiration of the applicable "hold" period
shall in and of itself constitute a final settlement thereof or impair the Bank's
right to charge-back in the event of an eventual dishonor.
17. STOP PAYMENT ORDERS In order to stop payment
on a check or a negotiable order of withdrawal must be in writing, signed by
the Depositor or any other person properly authorized, and must be delivered
to the Bank during regular banking hours in such time and manner as to afford
the Bank a reasonable opportunity to act on it. The Bank shall not be responsible
or liable for failure to comply with any order to stop payment received within
24 hours of receipt of the same check/negotiable order of withdrawal. Any stop
payment order shall be kept in force for a period of six months unless renewed
in writing.
The Depositor agrees to furnish the Bank with the exact amount, date, name of
payee and such other information pertaining to the item as the Bank may request
and failure to furnish such information shall relieve the Bank of any liability
for any payment made contrary to the order. The Depositor agrees to reimburse
the Bank for all expenses and losses of any kind resulting from stopping payment
pursuant to the Depositor's order and to pay the Bank's fee for stop payment
orders provided in the then current schedule of charges available from the Bank.
18. OVERDRAFTS Any check or negotiable order of
withdrawal presented to the Bank and drawn on an account which, if honored, would
leave a balance insufficient to cover the amount of any loss or expense incurred
by the Bank in handling said account up to the date said check or negotiable
order of withdrawal is presented, plus any charge due for opening or closing
said account, or any charge on returned items, shall be deemed an overdraft and
the Bank is hereby authorized to dishonor the same without any liability regardless
of the frequency with which the Bank may previously have honored such items.
Although it is not the general policy of the Bank to do so, the Bank may allow
an overdraft to exist or grant the Depositor an overdraft facility. In such an
event, and in the absence of a separate written overdraft facility agreement
providing otherwise, each overdraft created in the account shall bear interest
at the Bank's prevailing rate until the overdraft has been paid. The Bank is
hereby granted a security interest in all accounts of the Depositor with the
Bank (including accounts held jointly with one or more other depositors) to secure
any overdrafts existing at any time in any account of the Depositor with the
Bank (including an account held jointly with one or more other depositors).
19. WAIVER OF NOTICE OF DISHONOR The Depositor hereby
waives protest for and notice of the dishonor and/or non-payment of any items
deposited in the account.
20. BANK'S RIGHT OF SETOFF The Bank shall have a
right to set off against any and all funds in the account any and all obligations
(whether now existing or hereafter arising, direct or contingent, matured or
unmatured, joint or several) of the Depositor (or, in the case of a joint account,
any Depositor) to the Bank (including any branch or agency of the Bank anywhere
in the world) or to any subsidiary or other affiliate of the Bank.
21. BANK'S RIGHT OF WAIVER The Bank may waive any
of the provisions of these Rules and Regulations in any specific instance, but
any such waiver shall apply only to such instance. No delay or omission by the
Bank in the exercise or enforcement of any of its rights shall constitute a waiver
of such right.
22. LIABILITY OF THE BANK The Bank shall not be
subject to liability to the Depositor other than for its own lack of good faith
or failure to exercise ordinary care in connection with the account. The obligation
to exercise ordinary care in the handling of items, including stop payment requests,
and the adequacy of any procedure established by the Bank shall be measured by
the standard of commercial reasonableness applicable to financial institutions.
In any event, mere clerical error, inadvertant oversight, or mistake in judgment
on the part of an employee or agent of the Bank shall not constitute a lack of
good faith or failure to exercise ordinary care in connection with the account.
23. CONFLICTING DEMANDS; BANK'S RIGHT TO REQUIRE INDEMNITY If
the Bank believes, in its sole judgment, that following the Depositor's instructions
might at any time expose it to any claim, suit, loss, expense or other liability,
the Bank may request indemnity (and security for it) satisfactory to the Bank
before following the instructions. If the Bank becomes aware of a conflict of
demands or a dispute with respect to all or any part of the account or it receives
inconsistent instructions with respect to it, the Bank may, in its sole discretion,
require the signatures of all the Depositors (or the signatures or consents of
all those making demands or giving instructions) for any withdrawal or other
disposition of funds in the account or take whatever other action the Bank considers
advisable (or which its counsel
recommends) until the conflict or inconsistency is resolved to the Bank's satisfaction.
Such action may include freezing the funds in the account, placing them in a
suspense account, or interpleading them.
24. UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING NOTICE Restricted transactions as defined in Federal Reserve Regulation GG are prohibited from being processed through this account or relationship. Restricted transactions generally include, but are not limited to, those in which credit, electronic fund transfers, checks, or drafts are knowingly accepted by gambling businesses in connection with the participation by others in unlawful Internet gambling.
25. COSTS AND LEGAL FEES The Depositor shall pay
and indemnify the Bank as to all costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys'
fees and litigation costs at all levels) paid or incurred (or anticipated to
be paid or incurred) by the Bank in connection with any legal proceedings or
process (including any subpoena) relating to the account or any controversy or
dispute regarding it (except to the extent arising from the Bank's failure to
exercise good faith or ordinary care as finally determined by a court of competent
jurisdiction). The Bank may apply the account to the payment of any such costs
and expenses and the Depositor will be responsible for paying any balance.
26. LEGAL PROCESS If the Bank is served with legal
process which may affect an account, the Bank shall be authorized to withhold
payment until such process is annulled or dismissed.
27. APPLICABLE LAW If the account is booked with
an office of the Bank (the "Booking Office") located in Florida, the
account shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of Florida. If the account is booked with an office of the Bank (the "Booking Office") located in New York, the account shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of New York. If the account is booked with an office of the Bank (the "Booking Office") located in Texas, the account shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Additionally, whether the Booking Office is located in Florida, New York, or Texas, the account is subject to: these Rules and Regulations, as amended from time to time; any
other rules and regulations of the Bank governing specific types of accounts;
any general rules of the office where the account is located from time to time
in effect; applicable federal laws; applicable rules and regulations of federal
and state regulatory agencies with supervisory jurisdiction over the Bank; local
clearinghouse rules; and general commercial banking practices in the areas served
by the Bank. Each Depositor hereby irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction
of any state or federal court sitting in the county in which the Booking Office
is located in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the account
or these Rules and Regulations, and irrevocably agrees that all claims brought
by the Depositor in respect of the Account shall be heard and determined in such
courts. In any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the account
or the Rules and Regulations, each Depositor waives the right to interpose any
set-off or counterclaim of any nature or description, waives any objection based
on forum non conveners or venue, and waives any claim for consequential, punitive
or special damages. Without affecting the Bank's right to serve legal process
in any other matter permitted by applicable law, each Depositor irrevocably consents
to the service of any and all process in any action or proceeding arising out
of or relating to the account or these Rules and Regulations by the mailing of
copies of such process to the last known mailing address for the Depositor on
file with the Bank. Each Depositor also agrees that a final judgment in any such
action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in any jurisdiction
by suit on the judgement or in any other manner provided by law. IN ANY SUCH
ACTION OR PROCEEDING, EACH DEPOSITOR AND THE BANK HEREBY VOLUNTARILY WAIVE ANY
RIGHT WHICH ANY DEPOSITOR OR THE BANK MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY.
28. AMENDMENT The Bank may amend these Rules and
Regulations either by notifying the Depositor in writing at the Depositor's last
known mailing address on file with the Bank or by posting in the Bank a copy
of the amendment, which shall become effective 30 days later.
29. DEPOSITOR'S DEATH After the death of the Depositor
(or, in the case of a joint account, any Depositor), the Bank may retain the
funds in the account unless and until the Bank feels satisfied that it may do
otherwise without incurring any liability or potential liability (including any
liability or potential liability relating to any estate tax).
30. INTERNATIONAL BANKING FACILITY (IBF DEPOSITS)
In accordance with the policy established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System the depositor(s) acknowledges that funds deposited with the I.B.F. of the Bank will be used solely in support of the non-United States operations of the depositor(s) and that the proceeds of borrowings from the I.B.F. will be used solely to finance the depositor(s) operations outside the United States. These deposits are to be a minimum of 2 business days and all transactions to IBF accounts must be effected in amounts of $100,000.00 or greater.
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS
Our policy is to delay the availability of funds that you deposit in your account.
During the delay,
you may not withdraw the funds in cash and we will not use
the funds to pay checks that
you have written.
Please remember that even after we have made funds available to you, and you
have withdrawn the funds, you are still responsible for checks you deposit that
are returned to us unpaid and for any other problems involving your deposit.
DETERMINING THE AVAILABILITY OF A DEPOSIT
The length of the delay is counted in business days from the day of your deposit.
Every day is a business day except Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.
If you make a deposit before
4:00 p.m. at any of our branches or before
12 noon at an ATM located at one of our branches, on a business day we are open,
we will consider that day to be the day of your deposit. However, if you make
a deposit after 4:00 p.m. (12 noon at an ATM located at one of our branches)
or on a day we are not open, we will consider that the deposit was made on the
next business day we
are open.
The length of the delay varies depending on the type of deposit and is explained
below.
SAME-DAY AVAILABILITY
Funds from electronic direct deposits to your account will be available on the
day we receive the deposit.
NEXT-DAY AVAILABILITY
Funds from following deposits are available on the first business day after the
day of deposit:
- U.S. Treasury checks that are payable to you.
- Wire transfers
- Checks drawn on Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.
If you make the deposit in person to one of our employees, funds
from the following deposits are also available on the first business
day after the day of your deposit:
- Cash
- State and local government checks that are payable to you
if you use a special deposit slip available from one of our
customer service representatives.
- Cashier's, certified and teller's checks that are payable
to you if you use a special deposit slip available from one
of our customer service representatives.
- Federal Reserve Bank checks, Federal Home Loan Bank checks
and postal money orders, if these items are payable to you.
If you do not make your deposit in person to one of our employees
(for example, if you mail the deposit), funds from these deposits
will be available on the second business day after the day of
your deposit.
OTHER CHECK DEPOSITS
For all other check deposits, $100.00 will be available on the first business day after the day
of your deposit with the remaining funds available on the second business day after the day
of your deposit.
HOLDS ON OTHER FUNDS
If the Bank cashes a check for the Depositor that is drawn on
another bank, the Bank may withhold the availability of a corresponding
amount of funds that are already in the Depositor's account. Those
funds will be available at the time funds from the check the Bank
cashed would have been available if the Depositor had deposited
it. If the Bank accepts for deposit a check that is drawn on another
bank, the Bank may make funds from the deposit available immediately
but delay the Depositor's availability to withdraw a corresponding
amount of funds that the Depositor has on deposit in another account
with the Bank. The funds in the other account would then not be
available until the time periods that are described elsewhere
in this brochure for the type of check that the Depositor is depositing.
LONGER DELAYS MAY APPLY
Funds you deposit by check may be delayed for a longer period
under the following circumstances:
- We believe a check you deposit will not be
paid.
- You deposit checks totaling more than $5,000
on any one day.
- You redeposit a check that has been returned
unpaid.
- You have overdrawn your account repeatedly
in the last six months.
- There is an emergency, such as failure of communications or computer
equipment.
We will notify you if we delay your ability to withdraw funds
for any of these (or any other) reasons, and we will tell you
when the funds will be available. They will generally be available
no later than the seventh business day after the day of your deposit.
SPECIAL RULES FOR NEW ACCOUNTS
If you are a new customer, the following special rules will apply
during the first 30 days your account is open.
Funds from deposits of cash, electronic direct deposits, or next
day availability items will be available according to the same
schedule already discussed for existing customers.
Funds from all other check deposits will be available on the fifth business day after
the day
of your deposit.
Rev.: February, 2010 | Back
to Top
|
