Published
October 29, 2026
Bank of America accountholders who submitted a claim of an unauthorized debit card or ATM transaction that Bank of America denied between May 6, 2023 and July 14, 2026 may qualify to claim an equal share of the $2 million Bank of America EFTA class action settlement. Claims close December 11, 2026; the final approval hearing is set for January 4, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. The claim deadline is December 11, 2026, for forms submitted online or postmarked by mail. The court granted preliminary approval on July 14, 2026, and the final approval hearing is now scheduled for January 4, 2027 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. No payment date has been announced; payments come only after final approval.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
December 11, 2026
Submitted online or postmarked by mail
Estimated Payout
Equal share of $2M
Pro rata after fees and costs · account credit or check
Proof Required
Yes — ID to file online
Notice ID and Confirmation Code from the postcard or email notice · no receipts
What Changed Recently?
Bank of America, N.A. agreed to pay $2,000,000 to resolve Dennie v. Bank of America, N.A., a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The lawsuit claims the bank violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) by improperly denying accountholders' claims of unauthorized debit card and ATM transfers, by not giving a sufficient written explanation for those denials, and by not providing, on request, the documents it relied on. Bank of America denies that it violated any law or did anything wrong, and the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The court has not decided which side is right.Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. granted preliminary approval on July 14, 2026, which opened the claim period. That order originally set the final approval hearing for December 17, 2026. The settlement website and an updated notice labeled "Extended Dates" have since moved the schedule, and the website now lists the hearing for January 4, 2027. On October 22, 2026, class counsel filed their request for attorneys' fees, costs and a service award, and stated that no objections had been filed as of that date.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class includes everyone who submitted a dispute or claim to Bank of America of an unauthorized electronic fund transfer related to a debit card or ATM transaction, where Bank of America denied that claim between May 6, 2023 and July 14, 2026. The class covers both current and former accountholders.According to the notice, people who received a postcard or email notice addressed to them are the ones the parties believe may be in the class. The class definition is tied to a denied dispute, not to every unauthorized charge: a dispute Bank of America approved, or one denied outside that date range, is not described in the class.
Joint accounts follow a single rule. If one accountholder on an account opts out, every accountholder on that account is treated as having opted out, and no one on the account receives a payment or credit.
How Much Can You Get?
Each approved claim receives an equal (pro rata) share of the net settlement fund. The net fund is the $2,000,000 left after court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, notice and administration costs, and a service award to the named plaintiff. The share is calculated by dividing the net fund by the total number of approved claims, so the amount per person depends on how many class members file.Class counsel have asked the court for $666,666.67 in attorneys' fees (one-third of the fund), $22,976.07 in litigation costs, estimated administration costs of $93,486.64, and a $5,000 service award. If the court approved all of those amounts as requested, roughly $1.21 million would remain to divide among approved claims. That figure is an estimate based on the requests, not an approved amount, and the settlement documents do not disclose how many people are in the class, so no per-person figure can be estimated yet.
Under the settlement agreement, current accountholders are paid by a credit to their Bank of America account, and former accountholders are paid by check. Checks are valid for 90 days. The claim form's payment section also lists PayPal, Venmo, Zelle and paper check options. Money from uncashed or returned checks goes to a court-approved cy pres recipient; none of the fund returns to Bank of America.
Bank of America also agreed to change the written explanation it sends to accountholders whose claims of unauthorized debit card or ATM transfers are denied.
What Claims Are Released?
The EFTA allows two kinds of damages when a bank wrongly denies an unauthorized-transfer claim: statutory damages set by the statute, and actual damages for the money a person actually lost. This settlement resolves only the first. Class members who stay in the settlement release claims for statutory damages and injunctive relief. Except for the named plaintiff, the release does not cover claims for actual damages based on Bank of America's denial of an unauthorized debit card or ATM transaction claim.The settlement payment is a share of the statutory-damages fund. It is not a refund of the disputed transaction.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No receipts or bank statements are required, but the online claim form is gated on credentials from the notice. The claim portal at EFTABankingSettlement.com opens on a login screen that asks for the Notice ID and Confirmation Code printed on the postcard or email notice, and it does not offer a route for people without a notice. The paper claim form asks for the "Unique ID (Found on your Notice)," a payment choice, and a signed attestation under penalty of perjury that the claimant's unauthorized debit card or ATM claim was denied during the class period.The notice says class members can submit the paper claim form that came with a postcard notice by mail, or ask the settlement administrator for a claim form through the official website.
What Is the Deadline?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by December 11, 2026. The two official sources give different cutoff times for online claims: the Long Form Notice says 11:59 p.m. EST on December 11, 2026, while the settlement website's FAQ page says 11:59 p.m. PT on the same date.Requests to be excluded (opt out) and objections must be postmarked by November 30, 2026. An objection goes both to the court and to the settlement administrator, as described in the notice.
How Do You Take Action?
The official claim form is on the settlement website: EFTABankingSettlement.com/submit-claim. Filing online takes the Notice ID and Confirmation Code from the notice, contact information, a payment selection and the attestation. The website's Contact page is the official route for questions, including a lost notice or a request for a paper claim form.Opting out keeps any right to sue Bank of America separately over the released claims but means no payment from this settlement. A class member who does nothing stays in the class, receives no payment, and is bound by the release if the settlement is approved.
What Happens Next?
The court will hold the final approval hearing on January 4, 2027 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time in Courtroom 5A of the federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will decide whether to approve the settlement, the attorneys' fees and costs, and the service award. The notice says the court may change the date or time without further notice and that updates will be posted on the settlement website. No payments are made unless the court grants final approval, and no payment date has been announced.Sources and Verification
- Official settlement website — EFTABankingSettlement.com, including its FAQ, important dates and claim portal
- Settlement Agreement (ECF No. 59-2)
- Order Granting Preliminary Approval (ECF No. 60, signed July 14, 2026)
- Claim Form (PDF)
- Memorandum in Support of Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Costs and Service Award (ECF No. 64-1, filed October 22, 2026)
- First Amended Class Action Complaint
- Long Form Notice, "Extended Dates" version (PDF)
Related coverage: the Bank of America ATM fee settlement and the Bank of America wire transfer fee settlement were separate cases and are now closed. OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not the settlement administrator or a law firm. This article is general information about the Bank of America EFTA settlement. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Questions
Does the Bank of America settlement cover denied Zelle or credit card disputes?
The class definition covers only claims of unauthorized electronic fund transfers related to a debit card or ATM transaction that Bank of America denied between May 6, 2023 and July 14, 2026. The notice and settlement agreement do not describe Zelle transfers or credit card charges as part of the class.
Does staying in the settlement release claims for the money actually lost?
According to the notice, the release covers claims for statutory damages and injunctive relief. Except for the named plaintiff, it does not release claims for actual damages based on Bank of America's denial of an unauthorized debit card or ATM transaction claim. The settlement payment is a share of the statutory-damages fund, not a refund of the disputed transaction.
How does the settlement treat joint Bank of America accounts?
If one accountholder on a joint account opts out, every accountholder on that account is treated as having opted out, and no one on the account receives a payment or credit. Under the settlement agreement, checks for jointly held accounts are made payable to all accountholders and mailed to the first accountholder listed.
Why is the Bank of America EFTA fund $2 million?
Class counsel's fee motion states that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act caps statutory damages in a class action at $500,000, so the $2,000,000 fund is four times the most the class could have recovered in statutory damages at trial. Bank of America denies wrongdoing, and the court has not ruled on the merits.
What is Bank of America changing as part of the settlement?
Bank of America agreed to change the written explanation it sends to accountholders whose claims of unauthorized debit card or ATM electronic fund transfers are denied. The settlement agreement does not spell out the new wording.
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$2,000,000
Case Title
Dennie v. Bank of America, N.A.
Case Number
3:24-cv-00454-MOC-DCK
Court
U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina
Final Approval Hearing
January 4, 2027 at 11:30 AM ET
Courtroom 5A, Charlotte · moved from December 17, 2026
Administrator
Angeion Group
Official Website
EFTA Banking Settlement.com
