Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in which it was accused of improperly charging overdraft fees on debit card transactions.
The suit, filed in February on behalf of two customers, claimed that the $13.3 billion-asset company bank intentionally processed debit card transactions from highest dollar amount to lowest dollar amount, a process that can quickly deplete a customer's available funds and trigger overdraft fees.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, the bank said that it has reached a tentative settlement with the plaintiffs in which it agreed to establish a $9 million fund in exchange for a complete release of all claims against it.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday that any customer who had more than one overdraft in a single day over the past five years would be eligible to share in the fund. It also reported that the company changed its policy in January and now generally processes debit transactions from the lowest dollar amount to the highest.
