Limits

Overview

Account limits are a mechanism Unit has built to allow banks and technology companies to control their risk exposure. They help protect you and the bank from disasters that could result in very meaningful financial liability – from fraud to ACH returns to hacks. Limits are a part of the agreement between the bank and the end customer. The specifics of the limits are defined in agreement between the bank and the technology company, and have to be disclosed to the end customers. Limits can and should be fine tuned over time as end customer & usage data is collected.

Limits are defined on the account level via the deposit product (This means that if, for example, a deposit product has a $500 ATM deposit limit, the daily deposits from all the cards under an account associated with this deposit product combined cannot exceed $500).

note

This guide explains the recommended limits for various transaction types, for both individual and business accounts. Our recommendations are based on standard industry practice and are designed to balance customer satisfaction and fraud prevention. The actual limits for a program may vary meaningfully from the default recommendation, depending on the use case and end-customer profile

Limit Types

In general, there are daily limits (reset at 12:00 a.m. on the timezone of relevant bank) and monthly limits (reset at the same time on the first of each month), of three types:

Limit Type	Explanation	Example
Hard Limit	A limit that will prevent a transaction from being executed.	A customer attempts to use their card for an amount that would cause their account to go above its card purchase limit. The transaction will be declined.
Soft Limit	A limit that will allow a transaction, but will trigger an alert that the limit has been exceeded to a member of the Unit team.	A customer’s ACH limit is set to $25,000 per day. We can set a soft limit at $5,000 to review larger transactions to make sure the information in the ACH file matches the account information before the file is sent. The soft limit only triggers an alert to the Unit team to review before sending and will only be approved if Plaid Balance is available for the given counterparty.
Stand-in Limit	A limit that is in place for card transactions when there is a lapse in connectivity between Unit and Visa for real time balance checks. While this is not common, the use of stand-in limits can cause accounts to be overdrawn.	A customer has a $100 balance and attempts a $200 transaction during a time when stand-in limits are in effect due to weather that has caused a temporary online outage. The transaction will be approved if the Client has selected the $500 stand-in limit default. However, this will result in a $100 negative account balance for the client.

The Unit risk team will discuss these limits with you, as well as what limits are right for your business, during the onboarding process.

note

As limits are increased, reserve account requirements also may be increased. Please see the Reserve Account Guide for further details.

Individual Accounts

The following are guidelines for limits associated with personal accounts.

Transaction Type	Recommended Daily Limit	Recommended Monthly Limit	Limit Type	Comments
Card Purchase Limits	$2,500	No Limit	Hard	Card Purchase Limits are risk-based and may be subject to Regulation E disputes. Consider normal customer activity when setting limits.
ATM Withdrawal	$500	No Limit	Hard	Risk-based limit, but risk is lower than Card Purchase Limit due to PIN requirement. Cash transactions and fraudulent disputes present the largest ATM withdrawal-related risks.
ATM Deposit (via Allpoint)	$2,000	No Limit	Hard	Allpoint has a fixed limit of $2,000/day on ATM deposits. ATM deposits present a higher risk because (1) the deposit source is not known until the envelope is open, and (2) the heightened risk of “card cracking.” As a result, ATM deposit transactions should follow a hold protocol or have lower limits. Hold period for deposits is 5 business days.
Remote Check Deposits	$1,000	$20,000	Hard	Check deposit limits reduce the risk of fraudulent or stolen checks. Hold period is 5 business days.
ACH Debit Origination (Deposit to customer’s account)	$1,000	$10,000	Hard	Most ACH fraud occurs at higher dollar amounts. ACH debit clearing times should be taken into consideration when higher limits are in place. Risk is presented when a consumer originates an ACH from their own account at another bank and then disputes the debit at their other bank. NACHA rules limit any ODFI representation.
ACH Credit Origination (Debit from customer’s account)	$1,000	$10,000	Hard	Less risk to you, because the customer is sending funds. But if large, fraudulent ACH transactions are sent, limits on outgoing transactions would prevent spend of fraudulent funds.
Stand-in Limit	$500 POS $200 ATM	N/A	Hard	Lower dollar threshold than normal to reduce risk of overdrawn accounts while still providing customers access to their funds. A $50 stand-in limit is available to clients after consultation with the compliance team on the risks of a lower limit.

Business Accounts

The following are guidelines for limits associated with business purpose accounts.

Transaction Type	Recommended Daily Limit	Recommended Monthly Limit	Limit Type	Comments
Point of Sale (POS) Purchase	$5,000	No Limit	Hard	Risk-based limits; may fluctuate based on your use case. Limits are double those of consumer limits because businesses are not subject to Reg E.
ATM Withdrawal	$1,000	No Limit	Hard	Risk-based limit, but risk is lower than POS due to PIN requirement. Cash transactions and fraudulent disputes present the largest ATM withdrawal-related risks.
ATM Deposit	$2,000	No Limit	Hard	Allpoint has a $2,000/day cap on ATM deposits. ATM deposits present a higher risk because (1) the deposit source is not known until the envelope is open, and (2) the heightened risk of “card cracking.” As a result, ATM deposit transactions should follow a hold protocol or have lower limits. Hold period for deposits is 5 business days.
Remote Check Deposits	$50,000	$100,000	Hard	Check deposit limits reduce the risk of fraudulent or stolen checks. Hold period is 5 business days.
ACH Debit Origination (Deposit to customer’s account)	$10,000	$100,000	Hard	Most ACH fraud occurs at higher dollar amounts. ACH debit clearing times should be taken into consideration when higher limits are in place; by default, Unit’s system is set to 5 business days before funds are released into the account. It is important to verify the type and destination of each transaction since it affects customer dispute & return windows: If the ACH debit is a Cash Concentration and Disbursement (CCD) transaction to another business: 24 hours. If the ACH debit is a Prearranged Payment and Deposit (PPD) debit to a consumer: 60 days.
ACH Credit Origination (Debit from customer’s account)	$10,000 daily	$100,000	Hard	Less risk to you, because the customer is sending funds. But if large, fraudulent ACH transactions are received, limits on outgoing transactions would prevent spend of fraudulent funds.
Stand-in Limit	$500 POS $200 ATM	N/A	Hard	Lower dollar threshold than normal to reduce risk of overdrawn accounts while still providing customers access to their funds. A $50 stand-in limit is available to clients after consultation with the compliance team on the risks of a lower limit.