Cuomo signs overdraft protection bill into law

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation into law Thursday that is aimed to make banks take more actions to prevent overdraft fees.

The legislation requires banks to pay checks in the order they are received. If a bank receives a check for more money than the balance in the account, it may decline to pay the check, but it must honor any smaller checks that can be paid with the existing account balance.

Under current law, if a bank receives a check for more than the funds in the account, it will not only dishonor that check, but all subsequent checks, even if there is enough in the account to pay them.