ATM Withdrawal & Daily Debit Purchase Limits: What Are They?

Your ATM Withdrawal and Daily Debt Purchase limit will typically vary from $300 to $2,500 depending on who you bank with and what kind of account you have.

Because financial institutions only keep a fraction of their bank deposits on hand in cash, all banks impose daily limits on how much money their customers can withdraw from checking accounts through ATMs, as well as how much money they can spend using debit cards.

Average Limits for ATM Withdrawals and Daily Debit Purchases by Bank

The following table lists a range of ATM withdrawal limits and daily debit purchase limits for different checking accounts at some of the largest banks in the US:

The type of account you hold with your financial service provider will often affect your ATM withdrawal limit as well as your daily debit card spending limit. For instance, student accounts tend to have lower limits and premium accounts enjoy higher limits.

Occasionally, banks institute different limits on daily debit purchases depending on how the transaction is tendered. The most common distinction is between pin purchases, completed using pin numbers, and non-pin purchases, which you sign for.

How to Increase Your Daily ATM Withdrawal and Debit Spending Limit

If you need more physical cash or daily funds available, there are a few ways to raise your ATM withdrawal and daily debit limits. Most banks are flexible with raising these limits for accounts held by long-time customers. These increases may not be significant, but it's worth contacting your local banker to see if they're willing to negotiate a higher limit for you. If you are unsatisfied or want to switch to an account with higher limits, you can also upgrade your existing account or find a new bank.

Increase Your Daily ATM Withdrawal Limit

If you are looking to increase your withdrawal limit temporarily, many banks are willing to raise ATM withdrawal limits for short-term periods. This is especially true if you notify your bank about special circumstances such as being on vacation. Keep in mind that if you use an ATM outside of your bank's network, you could be charged ATM withdrawal fees. Another method to obtain more cash is by utilizing the cash back feature on your debit card.

Finally, you can always simply go into your bank in person and withdraw however much cash you need, regardless of your account’s ATM withdrawal limits. However, be aware that 1970 Bank Secrecy Act, written to target potentially fraudulent activity, requires banks to report all aggregate daily cash withdrawals that exceed $10,000. Repeated daily transactions that fall just under the $10,000 mark will be reported as well.

Increase Your Debit Card Spending Limit

As with ATM withdrawal limits, banks may also be willing to adjust your daily debit purchase limit if you contact them directly on an individual case by case basis. These may also be temporary or permanent limit adjustments for your account. If you intend to make a one-time extremely expensive debit card purchase, it is important to notify your bank in advance.

Upgrade Your Bank Account

If you'd prefer a more permanent increase in your ATM withdrawal limit or daily debit purchase limit, upgrading your account in your existing bank or applying for a new account in another bank is an option. Generally, approval for an account with a higher ATM withdrawal limit and daily debit purchase limit involves meeting more requirements, such as maintaining an average monthly balance or a having certain amount of qualifying direct deposits. To help you maximize your daily spending, we've organized checking accounts according to the highest limits below:

Santander: Santander's Student Value Checking Account holders have a $1,000 daily ATM withdrawal limit and $5,000 daily debit purchase limit while Basic Checking and Simply Right Checking have a $2,500 ATM withdrawal limit and $9,000 daily debit purchase limit. Santander's Premier Plus Checking account holders have the same ATM withdrawal limit of $2,500 but have an increased daily debit purchase limit of $11,500.

Citibank: Similar to Santander, Citibank's Basic Banking Account, Account Package and Access Account have ATM withdrawal limits of $1,000 with a daily debit purchase limit of $5,000. If you'd like to receive the highest limits Citibank offers, Citigold Account holders are entitled to $2,000 in daily ATM withdrawals and $10,000 in daily debit purchases.

PNC Bank: The Foundation Checking Account has an ATM withdrawal limit and daily debit purchase limit of $100, for beginner banking customers. The Standard Checking Account has an ATM withdrawal limit of $500 with a relatively high daily debit purchase limit of $7,000. If you need higher limits, PNC's Performance Checking and Performance Select Checking Accounts both have a limit of $1,500 for ATM withdrawals and a debit purchase limit of $9,500.

Withdrawals from Savings Accounts

While both checking accounts and savings accounts have no limits for in person withdrawals, savings accounts offer unlimited ATM withdrawals as well. However, Federal Regulation D imposes monthly activity limits on savings accounts. These limits can range anywhere from 2-7 transactions and apply to preauthorized or automatic withdrawals as well as internal and external transfers.

Many savings accounts also have excessive withdrawal fees that are typically around $10 to $15, so be sure to limit your savings account withdrawals to avoid incurring these fees.

See More Savings Accounts

If you need to switch savings accounts in order to eliminate high service fees, consider some of the online banks listed below. Online savings accounts earn higher rates and charge lower fees than traditional options, which rely on expensive brick-and-mortar locations.

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