Jun 23, 2025 / Money Tips
We’ve all had that day. The one when your rent comes due, your skincare subscription ships, the dog needs grooming, and that 30-day free trial suddenly isn’t. All at once. Being a functioning human in 2025 means juggling a million transactions a week, and sometimes, your checking account doesn’t keep up.
It might be a financial jump scare, but an overdrawn checking account isn’t a failure. It’s just life! That’s why Utah First offers Courtesy Pay as a little grace for the occasional “whoops” moments that happen to the best of us.
Courtesy Pay is our convenient, no-judgment safety net (NOT a penalty) that steps in when transactions exceed your available funds. Instead of slapping you with big-time fees, declining your card, or forcing you to awkwardly abandon your cart at the grocery store checkout, we quietly cover the charge.
You just pay us back within three days, plus a small, one-time Courtesy Pay fee! While big banks hike their fees in the name of margins, Courtesy Pay is one way we show that our members come first, not profits.
If you’re a frequent swiper, your account gets a lot of action, and you know that those tiny timing issues can turn into big-time stress — especially when payday isn’t perfectly synced with real life. One small gap between an auto-withdrawal and a paycheck can trigger declined charges or extra merchant fees.
With Courtesy Pay, you don’t have to sweat it. We cover you so your power bill (or pizza order) still clears. Even on tight weeks, Courtesy Pay keeps your payments on track and your life blissfully bounce-free for ultimate peace of mind.
While banks charge around $35 for similar services, our Courtesy Pay fee is only $14.95 per covered transaction. That’s the lowest fee in the state, and we’re pretty proud of it!
Sure, $35 might not sound like a lot, and $14.95 may not seem like much less — until your account is accidentally overdrawn and you keep tapping away. That’s when it adds up fast. Three overdrawn transactions with a big bank can quickly lead to $100+ in overdraft fees. With Utah First, it’s less than half that for the same transactions!
Real life doesn’t always pause for perfect timing, and we have your back with those annoyingly simple mistakes that could cost a small fortune elsewhere.
If you’ve recently overdrawn your account, you’re hardly the first. And since we’re a credit union and not your parents, we’ll leave the lecture to them if that’s their thing (we’re sure they’re lovely). And best of all? We won’t ask why you spent $75 at the gas station at 2 AM. We don’t judge. We’ll just be here with the flexible support you need to get back on track!
Everyone deserves a little backup now and then, and that’s exactly what Courtesy Pay is. Because you’re not reckless. You’re just real — and real is what Utah First is built for!
No need to sign away your firstborn child or sign a mountain of forms to take advantage of this service. All you need to do to snag this protection is:
That’s it! Start enjoying the backup you deserve baked right into your banking.
Beyond Courtesy Pay, there’s a lot more to love about your Utah First Personal Checking account.
Around here, being a loyal member means having a team on your side that gives back and shows up when it matters. Not just when things are going great, but especially when they’re not. Courtesy Pay is one of the many ways we’ve built a smarter, kinder kind of banking that’s here for you when life gets a little too real.
Moral of the story: If you ever need backup, you’re in the right place!