> How will overdrafts work? Will the check just not go through?
That's how it used to work, so sure, it's an option. A second option would be automatically taking the money out of your savings account, if available. A third option is, if you have a credit card with them, putting the overage on you your credit card. A fourth option would be to generate an automatic overage loan at a reasonable interest rate, without assessing a ridiculous fee.
In Brazil it is standard practice for banks to attach a credit line to every checkings account, and if you overdraw it counts as a loan against that credit. Some even include a grace period (10 days or so) where you don't pay anything if you bring your balance back to black.
However, you definitely don't want to keep using that credit line. Interest rates are on the order of 120%/year.
Ask your current bank about an "overdraft line of credit". I have a US bank account with a boring, not-cutting-edge-in-any-way bank, and I specifically asked for this (and got it) for both my personal & business accounts. So I suspect it's an option that's available at most banks if you have a decent credit history.
I have a 2500 or 3K credit line attached to each account; if I overdraw my balance -- with a bill payment, ATM withdrawal, whatever -- the extra comes from the overdraft line of credit, and there aren't any fees. I even used to be able to transfer money from the overdraft credit line into my checking account using their online interface, but they've turned that off now.
I've never overdrawn for more than a few days (due to poor planning, generally), so it's a perfect safety net... I always hated those fees!
It's not quite the same as a normal credit card line, I suppose -- where if I pay off the balance at the next statement, I pay no interest -- but the interest has never been more than pocket change, so I haven't even bothered looking it up.
[edit: sorry; I intended to post this in response to a post replying to you, not your post]
That's how it used to work, so sure, it's an option. A second option would be automatically taking the money out of your savings account, if available. A third option is, if you have a credit card with them, putting the overage on you your credit card. A fourth option would be to generate an automatic overage loan at a reasonable interest rate, without assessing a ridiculous fee.