When you whip out a bank card to pay for that morning cup of coffee, and accidentally overdraw your bank account by even a few pennies, the bank fee alone might cost you 12 times more than your coffee. But that may soon be a thing of the past. Beginning July 1, 2010, banks will have to secure their customers’ consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according to a new rule announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve.

Bob Smith, president of American Savings Bank, in Portsmouth, said the technology to enact this rule does not yet exist.

The new rule responds to complaints from consumer groups, members of Congress and other regulators that the overdraft fees are unfair because many people assume they can’t spend more on a debit card than is available in their account. Instead, many banks allow the transactions to go through, then charge fees of up to $25 or $35.

Under the Fed’s new rule, which will take effect July 1, 2010, banks will be required to notify new and existing customers of their overdraft services and give them the option of being covered. If customers don’t “opt in,” any debit or ATM transactions that overdraw their accounts will be denied, Fed officials said.

“The final overdraft rules represent an important step forward in consumer protection,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said. “Both new and existing account holders will be able to make informed decisions about whether to sign up for an overdraft service.”

Many larger banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo & Co. already began instituting similar “opt-in” plans in late September after coming under fire for the fees. But consumer groups and other regulators said new rules were still necessary to ensure smaller banks followed suit.

Smith said the locally-owned American Savings Bank would follow any mandate given by the Federal Reserve, but said there is no system yet in place to do it.

“The ATMs and point of sale venues have no way of knowing if that account is going to overdraw. So we have to tell the system to go ahead and take the transaction, and if it overdraws the account then unfortunately we have to charge the customer. The technology has to be developed between now and July 1 in order for us to do that,” Smith said.

He said American Savings Bank supports the idea and has already requested their data processors look for ways of doing that. If the technology does not exist by July 1, Smith isn’t sure yet how the bank will proceed — unable to refuse charges at point of sale, and unable to charge customers for overdrafts.

“If you go back to the way it was before we has the overdraft privilege, when somebody bounced a check they would be charged by the bank and they would be charged by the retailer or the vendor. Then the vendor would normally stick the check up on his wall to embarrass people,” Smith said. “The technology has to be developed, and I’m sure it will.”

He said there could even be an extension if the technology is not ready by July 2010.

Banks earn as much as $38 billion annually from overdraft fees, including check overdrafts, Fed officials said.

RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 235, or e-mail pdtwriter@ryanscottottney.com.