Overdraft interest is the interest a bank charge on an overdraft facility. An overdraft is a facility of extended credit from a bank or a financial institution. This facility allows the current account holder to withdraw money even when the account balance reaches zero. In other words, this facility allows the account holder to use more funds than what is effectively available in their current account with the bank.
Overdraft Interest Rate
Overdraft interest rate is very different from the interest rate of regular loans in the following way –
- In an overdraft facility, the interest rate is charged only for the number of days for which the current account is overdrawn, whereas in a loan, the interest rate is charged on the entire duration of the
- In an overdraft facility, the interest rate is charged only on the amount of cash overdrawn, as opposed to a loan where the interest is calculated on the sanctioned amount regardless of the usage.
Read Overdraft Vs. Loan for more details.
Overdraft Interest Calculation Method
The overdraft interest rate is calculated by the average daily balance method. In the average daily balance method, the interest is calculated by considering the balance of a current account at the end of each day or each period.
Calculation of Overdraft Interest by Average Daily Balance Method
The formula for overdraft interest rate by average daily balance method is as follows –
Formula
Interest = A/N * R/P
Where –
A = Amount Overdrawn
N = Number of Days in a billing period
R = Annual interest rate
P = number of periods per year
The banks may have different policies for compounding the interest rates. Interest rates can be compounded daily, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. The amount of interest that will change with changes is the compounding policies.
Learning with an Example
Example – Suppose XYZ Ltd. holds a current account with Bank of America. It has a current account balance of USD 5000.00 and an overdraft limit of USD 2000.00 at an interest rate of 18% per annum. We will calculate the interest rate when
1) no compounding
2) weekly compounding and
3) daily compounding
Following is XYZ Ltd.’s current account activity for 15 days from 01/01/2018 to 15/01/2018-
| Date (DD/MM/YYYY) | Beginning Balance | Withdrawal | Deposit | Ending Balance |
| 01/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | ||
| 02/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 3000.00 | |
| 03/01/2018 | 3000.00 | 3200.00 | -200.00 | |
| 04/01/2018 | -200.00 | -200.00 | ||
| 05/01/2018 | -200.00 | 350.00 | -550.00 | |
| 06/01/2018 | -550.00 | -550.00 | ||
| 07/01/2018 | -550.00 | 100.00 | -650.00 | |
| 08/01/2018 | -650.00 | 50.00 | -600.00 | |
| 09/01/2018 | -600.00 | 400.00 | -1000.00 | |
| 10/01/2018 | -1000.00 | 500.00 | -500.00 | |
| 11/01/2018 | -500.00 | 100.00 | 50.00 | -550.00 |
| 12/01/2018 | -550.00 | 1000.00 | 450.00 | |
| 13/01/2018 | 450.00 | 450.00 | ||
| 14/01/2018 | 450.00 | 550.00 | -100.00 | |
| 15/01/2018 | -100.00 | 300.00 | 200.00 |
No Compounding
To calculate interest, we must first calculate the sum of daily balances. We must note that interest will be calculated only on the ending balances for days when the current account is overdrawn. This can be done in the following manner –
| Date (DD/MM/YYYY) | Overdrawn Ending Balances |
| 03/01/2018 | -200.00 |
| 04/01/2018 | -200.00 |
| 05/01/2018 | -550.00 |
| 06/01/2018 | -550.00 |
| 07/01/2018 | -650.00 |
| 08/01/2018 | -600.00 |
| 09/01/2018 | -1000.00 |
| 10/01/2018 | -500.00 |
| 11/01/2018 | -550.00 |
| 14/01/2018 | -100.00 |
| SUM OF DAILY BALANCES (AMOUNT OVERDRAWN) | 4900.00 |
Interest = A/N * R/P
As the interest rate calculation is fortnightly
A = Amount Overdrawn = 4900.00
N = Number of Days in a billing period = 15 days
R = Annual interest rate = 18% = 0.18
P = Number of periods per year = 365/15 = 24.5 periods
So, Interest = 4900/15 X 0.18/24.5 = USD 2.40
Weekly Compounding
Following is the table in which the overdraft interest rate is compounded weekly. As per the previous calculation, when finding the sum of balances, interest will be calculated only on ending balances of the days on which the current account is overdrawn –
| Date (DD/MM/YYYY) | Beginning Balance | Withdrawal | Deposit | Ending Balance | Interest |
| 01/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | |||
| 02/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 3000.00 | ||
| 03/01/2018 | 3000.00 | 3200.00 | -200.00 | ||
| 04/01/2018 | -200.00 | -200.00 | |||
| 05/01/2018 | -200.00 | 350.00 | -550.00 | ||
| 06/01/2018 | -550.00 | -550.00 | |||
| 07/01/2018 | -550.00 | 100.00 | -650.00 | ||
| SUM OF BALANCES (A) (200+200+550+550+650) | 2150.00 | 1.06 | |||
| 08/01/2018 | -651.06 | 50.00 | -601.06 | ||
| 09/01/2018 | -601.06 | 400.00 | -1001.06 | ||
| 10/01/2018 | -1001.06 | 500.00 | -501.06 | ||
| 11/01/2018 | -501.06 | 100.00 | 50.00 | -551.06 | |
| 12/01/2018 | -551.06 | 1000.00 | 448.94 | ||
| 13/01/2018 | 448.94 | 448.94 | |||
| 14/01/2018 | 448.94 | 550.00 | -101.06 | ||
| SUM OF BALANCES (B) 601.06+1001.06+501.06+551.06+101.06) | 2755.30 | 1.36 | |||
| 15/01/2018 | -102.42 | 300.00 | 197.58 |
Interest rate calculation is as follows –
- Interest = A/N X R/P
A = 2150.00
N = 7
R = 0.18
P = 365/7 = 52
Interest = 2150/7 X 0.18/52 = USD 1.06
- Interest = A/N X R/P
A = 2755.30
N = 7
R = 0.18
P = 365/7 = 52
Interest = 2755.30/7 X 0.18/52 = USD 1.36
Total Interest = (A) + (B) = 1.06 + 1.36 = USD 2.42
Daily Compounding
In daily compounding, the interest is calculated at the end of each day, and this interest is added to the beginning balance of the next day. Following is the calculation –
All amounts in USD
| Date (DD/MM/YYYY) | Beginning Balance | Withdrawal | Deposit | Ending Balance | Interest |
| 01/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | 0 | ||
| 02/01/2018 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 3000.00 | 0 | |
| 03/01/2018 | 3000.00 | 3200.00 | -200.00 | 0.10 | |
| 04/01/2018 | -200.10 | -200.10 | 0.10 | ||
| 05/01/2018 | -200.20 | 350.00 | -550.20 | 0.27 | |
| 06/01/2018 | -550.47 | -550.47 | 0.27 | ||
| 07/01/2018 | -550.74 | 100.00 | -650.74 | 0.32 | |
| 08/01/2018 | -651.06 | 50.00 | -601.06 | 0.30 | |
| 09/01/2018 | -601.36 | 400.00 | -1001.36 | 0.49 | |
| 10/01/2018 | -1001.85 | 500.00 | -501.85 | 0.25 | |
| 11/01/2018 | -502.10 | 100.00 | 50.00 | -552.10 | 0.27 |
| 12/01/2018 | -552.37 | 1000.00 | 447.63 | 0 | |
| 13/01/2018 | 447.63 | 447.63 | 0 | ||
| 14/01/2018 | 447.63 | 550.00 | -102.37 | 0.05 | |
| 15/01/2018 | -102.37 | 300.00 | 197.63 | 0 | |
| Total Interest at the end of 15 days | 2.42 |
The calculation of daily interest rates is as follows –
On 03/01/2018 = USD 200.00 (overdrawn amount at the end of the day) X .18 (interest rate)/365 (number of periods per year) = USD 0.10
On 05/01/2018 = USD 550.20 X 0.18/365 = USD 0.27
Interest on 07/01/2018 = USD 650.74 X 0.18/365 = USD 0.32
& Interest on 09/01/2018 = USD 1001.36 X 0.18/365 = USD 0.49
Thus, we can easily see the difference between daily compounding interest rates against no compounding interest rates. The difference in interest rates seems small given the small value, but the difference will be huge for bigger firms where transactions may be in hundreds or thousands of dollars. The farther the compounding cycle, the cheaper it is for the borrower. In other words, weekly compounding is better than daily compounding, and monthly compounding is better than weekly compounding.
Quiz on Overdraft Interest
Let’s take a quick test on the topic you have read here.
if i had the option of an auto loan at 8.90% for 5 years for an amount of 10 lakhs vs an FD at current rate of interest 6.7% for 12 months( or even for 5 years) – will going in for an OD on FD be better?
Great ideas